Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams
by babyyycakes
Summary: Ginny has an abusive stepfather and she deals with her pain in a harmful way. D/G for life.
1. Chapter 1

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 1 All Alone

She lay there on the bed. Her body was so sore she couldn't move, she tried to speak but her throat ached and her voice had become cracked from the screams. Why she screamed she did not know. No one ever heard her scream, except for him. But the screams just enraged him more and the beating just became worse. Her stomach, chest, back, arms and legs were covered with welts and bruises but he never touched her face. No, he would never touch her face. After each time he would tell her how beautiful she was. He would say that her beauty could get her anything. He would say her face was so beautiful and delicate and that was how he controlled her. She would never speak a word to anybody else and he made sure of it but telling her how beautiful she was. With just a few words he could have complete control over her, and that was the way he wanted it.

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Ginny awoke that morning stiff and sore, just like each morning since summer had begun. Each morning she had to force herself to get out of bed and face the day. She silently crossed to hall into the bathroom and ran a hot shower. As she undressed and looked at the mirror she saw so many cuts, bruises, and welts. There were too many to count. But as she looked at her face she remembered his words, _"You are so beautiful and delicate, just like a flower."_ The words sickened her but gave her relief at the same time. If anybody did actually think her beautiful they would see only her face and not the bruises and welts that covered the rest of her body. As she stepped into the almost scalding water it gave her a small comfort. As she tried to bathe herself she tried to remember what had happened the night before.

_flashback _

"_Get up you little bitch!" he screamed. Ginny pushed herself farther back into the corner with her knees against her chest and her hands covering her ears. He kicked her and then she began to scream. Her screams always infuriated him. He grabbed her by the __neck and pinned against the wall. He ruthlessly began to pound her stomach and chest with his other fist re-opening several wounds from the previous night. He kept striking until her voice became raspy and cracked. _

_He let go and Ginny fell to the floor desperately clutching her aching neck. He grabbed both of her arms, hard, knowing they would leave finger-like bruises on her upper arms, and threw her against the wall. As she limp and lifeless on the floor he picked her up and cradled her in his arms. That was when he told her she was beautiful. Ginny hated that worst of all, even more than the beatings. She hated it more because she knew it was his way of controlling her, yet she knew she would never whisper a word to anyone. He gently laid her down on the cold floor and put her head softly on the floor as not to bruise it. He then gave her a kiss on the forehead and silently left the room. _

_Five minutes had passed and her mother came into the room and carefully lifted her from the floor and placed her on the bed. She didn't dare hug Ginny because she knew it would only make the pain worse. But she kissed her on the cheek and whispered and "I love you." Ginny slowly turned her head and looked into her mother's eyes as if blaming her for not doing anything. She did this each night and each night her mother would say, "I know, Gin, I know. Things will be better in the morning." Molly Weasley then stood up quietly and left the room._

_end flashback _

Ginny never understood how her mother could let him do such things to her and not even talk to him about it. But then, Ginny suspected, he would argue with her mother and end their marriage. She knew the only reason her mother had married him was because of his money. After her real father had died, they lost much money and needed some, quick. Her mother did what she thought was best for her family and married the richest Auror in the Ministry of Magic.

As she stepped out of the water Ginny once again peered at her reflection in the mirror. Like always she felt dirty and disgusting. Many times she had tried to wash away the filth, her mother's words rung in her head,_ "If it's not clean the first time, wash it again!"_

But the dirt never came off and she would always come out of the shower feeling filthy and pathetic. She finally had decided on a black long-sleeve and a pair of worn jeans. Not that she had much of an option when it came to her wardrobe, the bruises on her arms and legs were clearly visible so she couldn't wear skirts or blouses. Even though her mother knew what happened, her brothers were all blissfully blind and she thought it best for them to stay that way.

She hurried down the stairs thinking that if she was lucky she might scrounge any food that was left over. But like always with six brothers, there was hardly or no food at all left for her. As she watched from the bottom of the stair, she thought, _"Maybe if I stand here quietly, they won't see me."_ And they didn't see her. No one noticed the skinny girl at the back of the room; she was invisible to them, but at the same time in plain view.

Her mother was laughing at whatever joke Fred and George had told her, and her other brothers were to preoccupied stuffing their faces to even look up. But He noticed her. He took special care to make sure she didn't do or say anything she wasn't supposed to. He was forever watching and even though she pretended not to notice she could feel his eyes watching each move. Not saying a word, he slowly raised his hand and beckoned her towards the table. Once again she was under his control. And as acting as if she was under the imperius curse, she walked towards the seat right next to him and sat down.

"I saved you some food," He said while each word made Ginny shiver, "I thought you would be hungry."

A quiet, "Thank you, sir" was all she could muster and slowly began to eat the food. He stroked her thigh gently and like each time before she would tense at his touch. As the noise from the table began to quiet and her brothers started to go about their daily routines she was left to sit at the table all by herself.

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"Ginny, dear, could you come down here for a moment?" Molly called towards her daughter's bedroom. She ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. She had noticed her daughter tense up at breakfast and knew exactly what he was doing, he was controlling her.

"Yes, mother?" Ginny replied quietly, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"Stephan took the day off and told me he wanted to take you to Diagon Alley," she said softly, "And there is no point in protesting because I already told him you would." Ginny was mildly surprised at what her mother had said, but kept her eyes on the floor. When he made requests like that her mother usually made up excuses for her to stay at home, but this time she didn't understand why her mother had agreed so quickly.

"Yes, mother," was all she said. And for the first time in a while, Ginny lifted her head and looked straight into he mother's eyes as if to explain everything she felt. Molly Weasley saw it all. The hurt, fear, anger and control could be seen in her daughter's eyes. She could finally see how helpless and frightened her daughter felt and still could not bring herself to do anything about it.

Ginny turned away and walked to the front yard where Stephan was. She was going to have to face the day like she faced each night. She was going to face it by herself and all alone.


	2. Behind This Smile

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 2 Behind This Smile

_"Behind every smile, every laugh, ever grin_

_is something I'll always & forever keep in."_

"I suppose your mother told you, right Gin?" Stephan asked with a smile. A smile that made her blood run cold. She hated that smile; she wanted to tear it off his face.

"Yes, sir," was all she replied. If she showed respect, maturity, and kept her head low maybe, just maybe she wouldn't have to be beaten that night.

"Look at me, Gin," He said with a stern voice. She hated it when he called her that. He had no right to call her that. But too scared to defy him, she raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't you worry," He said with another smile that made her sick, "Today will be fun. Won't it Ginny?"

"Of course it will, sir," she said quietly hoping he couldn't see straight into her soul. As they both grabbed hold of the portkey, Ginny prayed that everything would be fine.

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They had been in Diagon Alley for nearly an hour. Stephan had treated her nicely, she supposed. He had taken her to Gringotts first to get some money. Then took her to get an ice cream. And that was where he had left her, to finish her ice cream all alone, while he flirted with a young, pretty blonde.

Ginny sat there thinking about him with disgust, he was all she ever thought about. At the moment she was pondering why she had began to always call him sir. She couldn't call him by his name, Stephan, although her mothers and brothers did. It felt too casual and she thought it might make him feel like he had no longer any control over her. She couldn't call him daddy either. Most of all because he wasn't her father but also because "daddy" felt like you had to love him to say it, and she definitely did not love him. She couldn't call him stepfather either. It was formal, but still felt like you had to have a likeness or some sort of bond with a person to call him that. So she would just stick with "sir." It was very formal and at the same time still made him feel like he had power. Power was a good thing for him. When he had power the beatings wouldn't be as bad, but if he felt like he lost the power they would become completely unbearable. _"Not that they weren't unbearable to begin with." _Ginny thought to herself.

At that moment Stephan walked over to her and said, "Follow me."

She got obediently, still eating her ice cream, and followed him. They had walked for a good ten minutes through Diagon Alley before stopping in front of a small, dark shop very close to Knockturn Alley. Stephan stepped inside and told Ginny to follow. She was somewhat frightened but at the same time curious at what was so important that he had to show her. He led her to the very back of the shop. There was a little light and she could see the light glittering off something silvery and shiny. She followed him, curious to find out what the objects were. And when he stepped aside, Ginny widened her eyes in shock. There were hundreds of knives.

She looked at the knives in surprise. There was practically every knife ever made, even muggle kitchen knives.

"Ginny, by the expression on your face I can see you're confused at why you're here," Stephan said with a slight laugh.

"Y-yes, sir," she could barely say it. And she didn't find the situation quite funny either. So why was he laughing? Was he going to kill her?

But as her shock turned to horror Stephan kneeled on one knee and lightly held her by the arms. She turned to face him and saw the seriousness written all over his face.

"Ginny you're a beautiful young lady of sixteen now. And young ladies need to protect themselves from hormonal, evil boys who will do _anything_ to get what they want. Ginny, do you understand what I'm trying to say?" He asked. But before she could say yes he interrupted again. "Of course, you don't. What am I thinking? You're still a little girl. What I'm trying to say, Gin, is young ladies are obligated to protect what is rightfully theirs and make sure no boy steals it from them. And since you are a young lady, I have brought you here to let you chose what you will protect yourself with."

This surprised Ginny. She actually had a choice in something? Slowly she turned back towards the knives and carefully picked one. It had a silver handle with a small fairy engraved on it. The fairy had one red ruby on its wing. She pressed the side and the blade shot out. She stared at it for the longest time. The knife gleamed in the light and she could see how sharp it was. Stephan saw her fascination with the knife and smirked.

"So you want this one?" he asked. She looked at him again and quickly nodded her head. He brought it up to the counter and paid for the knife. When he handed it back to her as they left the shop she looked at it again. Right under the fairy the initials VMW were also engraved into the handle. _"Virginia Molly Weasley"_ she thought to herself. But why would he go to the trouble of doing that for her? She wondered.

When they finally returned home Ginny said, "hank you for all the fun today, sir." And waited for his response.

"You're quite welcome, my dear," He said and flicked his hand to gesture her away. _"My dear?" _the very sound of it made her want to puke. But she pushed the urge down and climbed the stairs towards her bedroom.

She had been in bedroom for three hours and still hadn't done a thing. She sat on her bed and stared fixedly at the knife. She had never seen anything so dangerous and so beautiful at the same time. She rubbed the knife gently over her arm. _"One little slip could-" _but before she could complete her thought she felt a slight tingling and burning sensation on her arm. She looked at her arm. Forgetting how sharp the knife was, she must have rubbed a little too hard. Although she had drawn no blood Ginny felt different. A small bit of the ache on her heart had gone. It was like getting a breath of fresh air. She could actually breath again. She wanted more. She wanted to be able to breathe. She found another patch of fresh skin on her arm and sliced. It stung as she saw the blood trickle down her arm. But the ache lessened and she got more breath. So she sliced again and again. She sliced until there were five cuts on her pale arm. The blood was flowing freely now. She hadn't noticed that two drops had fallen and landed on her pillow. She heard a knock on the door and panicked. Ginny grabbed the nearest towel and wiped her arm as fast as she could. She stuffed the towel on the side of her bed just as Stephan walked in.

"Dinner is ready and your mother said you better hurry if you want any food," He said.

"Yes, sir," she replied and quickly walked out of the room tugging her sleeve down even farther.

Stephan walked over to her bed and saw the open knife on her nightstand. He also saw the two drops of blood on her pillow. He smirked to himself. His plan had gone perfectly.

Ginny hurried down the stairs still tugging at her sleeve. Before she reached the kitchen she put on a smile. If everyone saw her smile they wouldn't suspect anything. And that was what she would do. Ginny Weasley would hide behind her smile.

A/N: I got the second chapter up! So please enjoy cuz I probably won't post again until next week.

**HPfreakout: **thanks for the support. I hope you liked the new chapter!

**Dark-Angels-Tears: **yeah this story is gunna be a sad one but there might be a few happy moments too.

**Missing Fairy:** It is kind of hard to believe someone close to Ginny would do that to her. I originally thought of using her actual father but I thought that would be too harsh and a little unbelievable. So I went with the step father idea.

In the next few chapters you'll get to learn more about Stephan and what makes him so cruel to Ginny at times but nice to her at others. Thanks for all the comments and keep up the reviews !


	3. Stephan's Mind

**Warning:** This chapter contains mentions of rape. They aren't stated directly but you can pick up on the hints. If you don't want to read, you can skip it, but it does help you understand Stephan's cruelty towards Ginny. It also will mention hints of what will happen later on in the story.

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 3 Stephan's Mind

He wanted to storm up the stairs and beat her so badly. She had gotten off easy this night with no beating. _"It must have been pure bliss for that stupid little bitch."_ He couldn't take it. His adrenaline was rushing and his head was pounding. The beatings always calmed him and left him feeling stress free. But he couldn't beat her this night. She had already endured her first encounter with the knife. If he beat her she would break. If she broke everything would come out one way or another and his plans would be ruined. All his precious planning and time would be wasted. He couldn't mess up now.

He had been working on this plan for two years and finally everything was starting to come together. But it was just the beginning. One little slip up and everything would be down the drain; he knew that and _they _knew that. _"Yes, they knew that. And they were always watching him to keep him in check." _He thought bitterly. _They_ knew what he craved, what he was so desperate for. _They _knew the beatings would only hold off his desperation for a short time. That was why the girl had to go back to that school bleeding but not broken. He knew that and _they _knew that. He constantly had to be reminded to hold back his crave or the girl would go back broken. And if she was broken their plan was broken; everything they had worked to accomplish would be broken.

But _they _had promised him exactly what he so desperately craved, if he could wait for the right moment. He had to hold his own and keep on pretending or the girl would figure everything out. She was too smart. Her brothers were blind and stupid, too caught up in their own little dramas to notice anything. Except for one, Percy. He had already begun to grow suspicious and his eyes also watched. But that could easily be taken care of, very easily. Just like how easy it was to get rid of the father. So simple and so easy that it seemed almost obvious. But of course, no one had noticed. Molly was too preoccupied with the boys to notice anything. She knew about the beatings but thought it was just a phase and everything would change next summer. _"Hah, pathetic fool. It really is sad that she sees her daughter get beat but does nothing about it. That just makes everything easier." _He smirked to himself. But Ginny was just too smart. She could be blind at times but she could figure things out quickly. He knew she was still confused about the knife, but soon enough she would come to understand.

His crave had lessened, but it was still there constantly in the back of his mind. It drove him so crazy at times that he would almost do what he so desperately wanted. But when _they _sensed his urge, _they _held him back. He figured the beatings would have to suffice for the rest of the summer. After all, there were only two weeks before the brats went back to that school. And only a week before potter and that mudblood came to stay with them. He absolutely hated mudbloods. They were the lowest of the low in the wizarding race, both a disgrace and an abomination. How he wanted to kill them all. He knew he had to keep his cool and not do anything stupid though. The beatings would help with this. He would give Ginny a really hard beating the night before she left just to let her know he would always be watching. Not enough to break her, but just enough to almost push her over the edge. That would have to work for the time being.

Before the next summer would begin he would have what he craved. Whether he had to take it by force or it was given to him, he would have it. And then he would end her suffering and pain. He would end it all.

A/N: I know I said I wouldn't post until sometime next week but I wanted to write this chapter about Stephan so badly. Even though its short I hope it gives you some clue of how evil and cruel he truly is. I promise the next chapter will be longer. I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Inivisble in Your Eyes

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 4 Invisible in Your Eyes

_"It hurts to smile everyday_

_pretending everything's just okay."_

Ginny awoke early this morning. It was six-thirty and the rest of the house was still asleep. She knew why; today was the day Harry and Hermione would come to stay with them before going back to Hogwarts. She would spend a whole week around Harry. Sure she had grown out of her little girl crush a year ago, but still a small part of her liked him. She loved him as a brother, but one tiny part saw him as more. It didn't matter anyway because Harry was smitten with Hermione. Both feelings were mutual when it came to them, although they still wouldn't admit it. Ron was too busy ignoring it instead of trying to accept it. If anyone asked him about then he would simply deny it, as if the very thought was repulsive.

Ginny got up and stood in front of her mirror. She had never really looked at her face before. She was always to busy looking at the bruises, willing them to go away. But this time she truly looked at her face. Her hair was not bushy and thick like it had been in her fourth and fifth year. And didn't hang straight and limp, like when she was younger. It was straight but had body. It curled slightly towards the end and stopped around the middle of her back. It wasn't as fiery or red as the rest of the Weasley's. It was lighter and she seemed to have natural highlights from all the work she had been doing outside over the summer. She looked at her face. It was no longer round and chubby, but slender and soft. Her lips were a soft pink color and her eyelashes had grown longer. Then she looked at her freckles. They weren't as visible anymore. You could still seem them across the bridge of her nose and some on her cheeks but they were lighter. Her face had changed and so had her body. She had a good figure the accented her just perfectly, but that didn't matter. It was hid under her lose jeans and long sleeve shirts. At Hogwarts it would be hid under her knee length skirt and baggy shirt. She sighed and walked down the hall towards the bathroom. _"Its not like Harry would notice even if I wore clothes and make up that made me look good," _Ginny thought.

As she turned on the water and began to undress she looked at the cuts on her arm. They always reminded her of they day she got her knife and the day she wasn't beaten. She had actually woke up happy that morning, for the first time that summer. She could tell Stephan was stressed and knew she would receive a beating that night but still couldn't help but be happy. She never cried anymore after he beat her. That was what the knife was for. She hadn't cut after every beating, just once last week and she hadn't felt the urge too badly after that. Before she stepped into the shower she thought, _"As long as he doesn't notice anything, everything will be fine." _And just like she hoped, no one would notice.

It was nine-thirty and Ginny was rushing down the stairs. Harry and Hermione would be here at ten and she hadn't even started breakfast! Hr mother usually cooked breakfast, but she had asked Ginny to since she would be tidying up Ron's room. She quickly started cooking some eggs and ham and got toast started. At ten Ginny had barely managed to finish breakfast when Harry came strolling into the kitchen.

"Hey, Gin," He said.

"Oh, hey Harry," she said with her back towards him, "Do you want some breakfast?"

She turned around and saw him reading the paper. He couldn't even answer Yes or No? _"Well of course, not. He's too busy pretending I don't exist to say anything."_ Ginny sighed to herself and served him some food. "Mm, thanks." Was all he said before returning to the paper. Ginny walked over to the table and plopped down in a chair.

"So, harry," she said trying to make conversation, "How was your summer?"

"Same old, same old," He replied still not looking up, "Yours?"

"It was okay, kind of boring," she said. _"Yeah right. It wasn't boring at all, it's the worst summer ever!" _she thought to herself.

When he finally did look up at her it was with a blank expression. "Gin, do you know where everybody is?" He asked.

"Umm, Percy and Stephan are at the Ministry, Bill is at Gringotts, Charlie is back in Romania, Fred and George are at the joke shop, Mum is cleaning the house and I don't know where Ron is," She said. She shivered when she had said his name. She hated saying his name, but she couldn't call him "sir" in front of Harry.

"Thanks, and tell your mum that breakfast was delicious," He said grabbing the paper and leaving in search for Ron.

Ginny was pissed. He couldn't even bring himself to look at her and when he finally did he just stared like an idiot! Ginny hadn't been expecting a "You look really pretty" but maybe a "You look different" might have been nice. But no, he just sat there ignoring her like she was a brick wall. That was what she was, Ginny the Fucking Brick Wall! And then he goes as far as to tell her that her mother's food was delicious! What was it? Did everyone think her incapable of cooking a simple meal? She guessed so, besides she was just a brick wall ignored by everyone and everything. At that moment Hermione walked in the room and gave Ginny a big hug.

Ginny took in a sharp breath. Hermione's hug was a little too hard, especially against her bruises.

"Nice to see you, Gin. Do you know where Ron is, I haven't seen him yet," She said.

"Probably outside goofing off with that arrogant prat Harry," Ginny replied angrily.

"Oh, thanks," said Hermione ignoring Ginny's last comment and heading outside.

"_Once again Ginny the Fucking Brick Wall,"_ she had thought bitterly to herself. If this was how Harry and Hermione were going to act towards her-that is treating her like she was invisible-then it was going to be a long week.

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It was three P.M. and Ginny was sitting on her bed staring at her knife. She hadn't cut today, but staring at her knife had become a daily routine. It gave her a comfort, a comfort that reminded her that there was still hope left. Hope for a change and hope for a better life. At that moment there was a knock on the door. Ginny quickly shoved the knife under her pillow as Hermione walked in.

"Ginny, I wanted the chance to come talk to you since we didn't get the chance this morning," said Hermione seriously. Something about the way she had said that made Ginny frown. Did Hermione know something?

"Okay, what's up?" Ginny said with a questioning look.

"Well, how are you feeling? You seemed a little strained this morning and when I talked to Harry this morning he said that he felt some tension between you two. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright," she said. Hermione seemed nervous almost as if she didn't want to make Ginny upset.

Ginny was angry with Hermione. She didn't have time to deal with things like tension between her and Harry. Of course there was tension, he had completely ignored her! And of course she was strained; she had been strained all summer. She didn't want to deal with something so minor when she had other things on her hands.

"I'm fine, Hermione. Really, I'm fine, just tired is all," she said trying to keep the frustration out of her voice.

"Gin, what exactly are you tired of?" she asked. That was the last straw. Ginny couldn't take it anymore and blew up straight up in Hermione's face.

"You want to know what I'm tired of? I'm tired of being treated as the little girl who doesn't know anything! I'm tired of being of being the one who has to figure things out on her own because everyone thinks I'm too young or I'm too weak to handle it! I'm tired of being the one who is treated like she is a lost eleven year old who is still trapped in Tom's chamber! I'm tired of constantly being ignored by you, Harry, and Ron! I'm tired of you always trying to act the hero and save everyone from everything! But most of all I'm tired of being tired!" Ginny yelled furiously.

"Oh, I get. You still have a thing for Harry don't you? I knew it. This is what it's all about. Ginny, you have got to get over your little girl crush, it's time to move on, hun," Hermione said with a patient smile.

"You really don't get it do you Hermione? You're so smart when it comes to books but you can be such and idiot when it comes to reading people! This isn't about a little girl crush I had two years ago. And if you knew that, you would know I have grown up! I'm not the frightened eleven-year-old who hides in the corner anymore, Hermione! But you wouldn't know that because you just don't give-a-fuck!" Ginny said with a snarl and stormed out of the room.

It was seven o'clock and he still wasn't home. Ginny was still very angry with Hermione and had refused to talk to her, but at the moment she was too busy wondering where he was. She wasn't worried, but the only reason she was sitting on the couch was being she had a feeling. There was a pit in the bottom of her stomach. She always got this feeling when something was wrong, and something was very wrong. At seven thirty he walked into the house with a smile on his face. Ginny was shocked. Usually she saw frustration and stress written all over his. Today she saw a true genuine smile; he was happy for some reason. But that reason, whatever it was, made her sick.

Ginny was still so confused. She couldn't understand what had made him so happy. Sure he had beaten her just like the other nights, but tonight's had been different. He had kicked her twice and then left. And they weren't his fierce whole-hearted kicks like usual. They felt half-hearted and weak like he wasn't in the mood for it but did it anyway just to make everything appear normal. He didn't even end with his normal routine of telling her how beautiful she was. Something was very wrong and Ginny could not put her finger on it.

And Ginny was right something was very wrong. Something her and the rest of her family would never expect. And this was the something that would make her even more invisible in the eyes of others.

A/N: whew! Long chapter here. Sorry it starts off kind of slow but hopefully it started to get more interesting as the chapter went on. I hope my description of how Ginny had changed was okay, it was the best I could do for the time being. Well anyone got guesses on what this "something" is? Well that's all in the next chapter. ;


	5. Hold on

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 5 Hold On

_"Lost and broken  
hopeless and alone  
smiling on the outside  
but hurt beneath my skin  
my eyes are fading  
my soul is bleeding  
I'll try to make it seem okay  
but my faith is wearing thin"  
- death's rose_

Ginny's legs began to grow weak and he knees began to buckle. She quickly sat down before she fell. She was too numb to move or say anything. She couldn't breathe and she couldn't think, but worst of all, she couldn't cry. She felt the tears in her eyes but they still wouldn't fall. She didn't cry when she had the knife to do it for her. And right then she desperately needed her knife. She needed to breathe, she needed to think, and she needed to cry. And if she couldn't cry then she would bleed, she would bleed away all the tears. She slowly rose and her body shook. She had to get to her room as fast as she could. She quickly got up and started to run up the stairs. As she reached the top, she bumped into Ron and dropped what she was holding. But she didn't care and she didn't turn back when he called out to her. Everything was blur and she needed her knife to make it focus.

"Gin, are you okay? You dropped something!" Ron called. But she didn't turn back and just slammed the door. He bent down and picked up what Ginny had dropped.

It was a newspaper, the Daily Prophet in fact. _"What had made here so upset?" _he wondered. He turned the paper over and his eyes widened in horror.

"Mum! Mum, come here quick!" he shouted.

"What dear? What is it?" Molly asked with a confused look on her face.

"Its P-Percy, he's d-dead."

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Ginny was so upset. She couldn't cry and although she wanted to very badly, the tears wouldn't come. So she cut. She cut again and again, but the ache wouldn't lessen and she still couldn't breathe. So she cut deeper. She ran out of room on her arms so she cut her thigh. Her skin was very sensitive there and finally the ache lessened and she could breathe again. She made two thin but very long cuts just above her left breast. Those were for her father and brother, two people she would never see again.

Her family was stunned. They were even more upset that they had to learn about their son's death through the newspaper and weren't informed personally. Stephan's excuse was that he got home quite late from the "incident" and wanted his wife and her children to have one more happy night before they found out the horrible news. But Ginny knew the truth. He had come home late, but only by an hour. He had purposely stayed downstairs just so everyone would think he had come home very late.

The paper has said that Percy was gunned down and then robbed on his way home from work. It said that the ministry suspected it was muggles who had killed him because they left his wand and all wizarding objects behind. _"That was strange,"_ Ginny thought. Hadn't her father died the same way? She climbed the stairs and went into the attic. She was searching for an old newspaper, the one that had reported her father's killing.

On the morning of January 23, the body of Arthur Weasley was discovered among garbage bins close to the Ministry. On the evening of January 22, witnesses said they saw Arthur Weasley leave the building on his way home. The murder appears muggle related. He was attacked with a muggle firearm and then robbed of any possessions valuable to them. His wand and any wizarding objects were left behind. Since this appears to be the work of muggles, the ministry cannot open any investigations. But our sympathy goes out to Molly Weasley and the rest of her family.

That was all they could offer, their sympathy. Well their sympathy had gotten her an abusive stepfather and their sympathy wouldn't bring back her brother. Ginny sat in the attic for the rest of the afternoon, re-reading the article word-by-word.

0+0+0+0+0+0

It was the day before they would return to Hogwarts, also the day of Percy Weasley's funeral. The family had been mourning all week and on their beloved Percy's funeral it was raining. As they lowered the coffin into the ground Molly Weasley became hysterical. The rest of her brothers and him had gone over to support her, while Harry and Hermione hugged. And there she was Ginny Weasley, standing in the rain with no one to comfort her and with no one to care. Her spirit was broken and everything seemed out of place. Two people she had loved very much left her before their time was done and no one was there to tell her everything would be okay. She knew deep down in her soul nothing was okay and nothing would be fine. Her life was broken into pieces, just like shattered glass. It was too painful to fix and would be swept aside into a corner, just like her. Any hope she had gotten back was gone. She wasn't completely broken but she was falling off the edge. And as she screamed inside no one would come, no one would help her. She had questioned all reasons for living, but found no good answers. Was her life that worthless to herself and others? But something in her heart told her to hold on, hold on for just a bit longer. Hold on for something better to come, hold on for someone to save her from the pain and suffering. So she would hold on for a while longer. Holding on for someone to help and holding on for something better.

A/N: I couldn't help writing another chapter. I didn't want to be mean and leave you guys hanging on the end of chapter four so I wrote one more. Sorry this chapter wasn't as long as the one before but I'm short on time today. I'm going away for the weekend and won't be back until Sunday night. If I have time I'll write then but don't be expecting a post until Monday or Tuesday at the latest. I hope you enjoyed!


	6. A Dream and A Letter

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 6 A Dream and A Letter

_"sometimes the things that happen the quietest  
end up making the most noise."_

Ginny softly rubbed her temples in hope that it would relieve her pounding headache. Her head ached, her body was so sore and in so much pain and she was extremely tired. But nothing she was doing was making her feel better. She had been on the train nearly fifteen minutes and with the trio next to her she couldn't get an ounce of sleep. They always talked so loudly and she just wanted to scream at them to shut up, but she knew the sound of her voice would make her headache worse.

After another fifteen minutes had passed Hermione and Ron left to do their prefect duties and Harry had begun to read a book about Quidditch. She did her best to make herself as comfortable as possible without having to move too much. And before she knew it, Ginny was fast asleep.

_"You fucking bitch, you fucking whore get up now!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. His face had become red with fury and she could she the vein pulsing in his forehead. Ginny pushed herself farther back into the corner; she didn't want this, she didn't want it at all, especially after what happened in the past two days. He began to kick her relentlessly with his boots on and didn't stop until she was lying on the floor and wheezing. The last kick has sent her side in to extreme and unbearable pain. She had never experienced pain that bad and was afraid he had broken a bone. He took the cane out-the one he had bought earlier to go with his brand new suit- and began to strike her with it. Each hit stung and left a thick red mark on her skin. As he hit her he screamed, "Stand up this instant you little whore!" Each hit became harder and harder until Ginny managed to get on her knees and beg him to stop. But he only laughed and gave her a cruel smile, "You beg like a little whore, just asking for what's already coming to you." He said and then slapped her across the face. She a squeal of horror and quickly placed her hand over the red mark on her face. He had never slapped or touched her face before. Did that mean he would hit her face now too?  
She scrambled back into a corner and watched him with pain in her eyes. He stood there in silence just listening to her breathing. It was raspy and heavy, like something was preventing her from breathing normally. But he just laughed again before walking over to her. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up; he punched her one last time in the stomach before throwing her against the wall and watching her body fall to the ground in a heap.  
He then slowly walked over to her and picked up her limp body. He then told her how beautiful she was as he gently rocked her in his arms. But before he set her on the floor gently he said, "You need to watch yourself, little one. Your beauty can get you anything, even the things you don't want." He gently placed her on the ground, kissed her on the forehead and silently left the room. Ginny was hurt so badly that she wanted to cry. But the tears wouldn't come and her eyes remained dry. All she could think about was getting to her knife as soon as possible. She used hr arms to drag her body across the floor and reached under her pillow where the knife was. She couldn't breathe she and began to cut. Each cut was long and deep and quickly drew blood. She kept at it until she got her breath back and the ache had slowly left. He had almost broken her, almost. He had dangled her off the edge to the point that she couldn't get back, but she still hadn't fallen and she still hadn't broke. She knew he wouldn't break her, not yet anyway._

Ginny heard a faint voice. "Ginny, wake up, wake up," said the voice. She opened her eyes to see Hermione standing over her.

"Mmm, what is it?" Ginny said very sleepily.

"You were whimpering in your sleep and kept scratching at your arms. I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said quietly.

"Oh, yea, I'm fine. Just a bad dream that's all," Ginny replied trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Well if that's all, then do you think you and Ron could go to the luggage compartment for a few minutes?" Harry asked with a small smile.

"What for?" Ginny asked with an annoyed voice.

"I think Ron left his wand in his trunk and needs help finding it," Hermione said pushing them both out the door.

"Well then why the hell do I need to help him? I wasn't the one who lost my wand," Ginny said defiantly.

"Thanks for agreeing to help, Gin," Hermione said as she slammed the door in her face. _"What is it? Do I have moron written on my face? Those two need to come up with better excuses for being alone together." _

"Ron, you didn't really lose your wand did you?" she asked as if she were dumb.

"No, but I just don't get why Hermione is always pushing me away. She's always making up excuses to be alone with Harry. I just don't get it," Ron replied sounding confused.

"Uhh, Ron? What's not to get?" She asked. But when he gave her a questioning look she shrugged him off, "Never mind then."

Ginny hurried through the train towards the luggage compartment. If she was lucky and she hurried she might be able to catch Hermione and Harry in the act. That would certainly give her a good laugh; and a good laugh would be all she needed to slightly lift up her mood. Right as she began to quicken her step, she slammed into someone and found herself on the ground.

"Watch where you're going Weasel. You just dirtied up my robes with your filth," a cold voice drawled. She didn't have to look up and she already knew it was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy, your insults are quite pathetic and lacking," she said coolly, "But I must say, the smirk that comes with them suites you better than that ugly blank expression you usually have."

Crabbe and Goyle snickered behind him. "Well it seems the youngest Weasel has learned to control her temper," he said with a vicious smile, "Perhaps this new family member has taught you how to show respect. I heard he spends a decent amount of time with you, just a little too much time if you ask me."

Ginny's cool face instantly changed to fear. She didn't bother to hide her expression, giving Draco another chance for an insult.

"Is that fear I see in your eyes, Weasel?" He said with another smirk, "It must be. Tell me does each one hurt more than the one before?"

Ron suddenly stepped in. "Ginny, what is _he_ talking about?" Ron asked narrowing his eyes towards Draco.

"I don't know," she said doing her best to hide the fear in her eyes. She stepped past Ron and Draco and into the luggage compartment.

Ginny closed the compartment door and slid down towards the floor. Tears were pricking at her eyes but she knew they wouldn't come. She was beginning to lose her breath again and the ache was coming back quickly. She stood up and ran to her trunk. She began to frantically throw out all her possessions in search for her knife. She couldn't find it. Ginny's mind was screaming at her for losing it. Had she left it at home? Then she remembered. She had been looking at her knife that morning when Hermione suddenly burst in. She had quickly shoved her knife under her pillow. She guessed that she most have forgotten it when she left. _"What am I going to do?"_ she thought sadly to herself. Losing her knife was like loosing her best friend, her only friend. She figured she would have to go to Hogsmeade on the next trip and purchase a new one. At that moment a large barn owl tapped on the glass.

Ginny stood up when she recognized the bird. She opened the window and let the bird in. "Errol, what are you doing here?" she asked the bird. It lifted its leg and she saw the packaged attached.

She quickly untied it and almost dropped the letter when she felt the weight. It was heavy; there must have been something along with a letter. She tore open the envelope only to find what she desperately needed, her knife. She grabbed the letter and began to read.

_My Dear Ginny,_

_You seemed to have left this precious possession behind when you left this morning. I found it under your pillow and thought I'd send it to you. Remember little one, your beauty can get you anything, even things you don't want. This is what the knife is for. Protect yourself and be safe, it would devastate me if another precious family member was lost. You are so beautiful, Ginny, always remember that. I hope you think of me when you use it._

_All my love,_

_Stephan_

Stephan 

Ginny gave a shudder of disgust. What did he mean by _think of me when you use it_? Did he know her dark secret or was he simply referring to if she ever needed to protect herself? Either way the letter had frightened her. Even more frightening was the fact that Draco Malfoy possibly knew what happened at home. Either way she would have to deal with it step-by-step and day-by-day.

A/N: Chapter six is up! Sorry I couldn't post over the weekend, but I was vacationing with the family. I'll post again soon, by Friday at the latest.


	7. Mirror into My Soul

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 7 Mirror into My Soul

"_and if I bleed, I bleed!  
knowing you wont care  
and if I sleep just to dream of you  
and wake without you there.  
isn't something missing?  
isn't something.."_

Draco was lying on his bed. It was well past two in the morning and he still couldn't sleep. All he could think about was what had happened earlier that day on the train. The fear in her eyes had been too noticeable. How could the youngest and weakest Weasley put up with her stepfather? And for the whole summer, too. _"What does he have over her that keeps her so quiet?"_ Draco asked himself. Of course, Draco had known about the beatings. His father had informed him about it around the middle of the summer. He hadn't bothered to ask his father how he knew; now wishing he had. Lucius Malfoy knew everything about everybody. Whether it be good or bad, Draco's father knew the deepest secrets that any person had.  
The weasel's mother must have known, after all it was her husband and her daughter. But as a mother did she not have the love or bravery to stand up for her only daughter? Stephan obviously didn't beat his wife; there was no purpose for it. He already had control over her through his money. If their mother hadn't married Stephan they would have no money and therefore no place to live. Although it was against his better judgment, Draco threw on a tee shirt and shoes and walked out the portrait hole.

0+0+0+0+0+0

Ginny had been sleeping on and off the entire night. Each time she had fallen asleep she would dream of the beating she received right before she had left. And each time she had woken up in a cold sweat clutching her knife under her pillow. Around two-thirty in the morning she had given up on sleep. She'd rather have bags under her eyes in the morning than have to relive what had happened. Her stomach growled when she remembered she had not eaten. She had skipped the feast when an enormous ache came over her heart. She had chosen to relieve the ache rather than eat. She got out of bed silently, doing her best not to wake her roommates, and left through the portrait hole. Soon enough she found the entrance to the kitchen and tickled the pair. To her surprise house elves were still working in the kitchen.

"What can Star do for you, missus?" one of them asked.

"Umm, I missed the feast and I was hoping to get some food," Ginny said slightly embarrassed.

"Of course, missus, of course! No need to be embarrassed, Star will get you all the food you want!" The house elf replied kindly. She then gave Ginny two mince pies, a small container of pumpkin juice and some fruit.

"Thanks a lot," Ginny said happily.

"No need to thank me, missus. Star is glad to serve you," the house elf said with a deep bow. Ginny left the kitchens and was about to go back to her common room when she changed her mind. She had never truly experienced Hogwarts at night. _"It might be fun,"_ she thought to herself, _"the worst that could happen would to lose points or get detention, no big deal." _Ginny walked as silently as possible, but met no one on the way. She opened the door to the castle just enough so she could squeeze through. By the time she had realized it she was already sitting by the lake enjoying her well-past-midnight snack.

0+0+0+0+0+0+0

Draco had been pacing back and forth on the third floor for fifteen minutes. He didn't know what he was doing there but he didn't want to return to the dungeons. Draco gave a heavy sigh and walked to the window. He stared at the moon and saw the silver glow it emitted over the lake. As he looked down toward the lake he noticed something by the shore. At first glance it appeared to be an animal but when the figure stood up and threw rocks into the lake he knew it was a person. Draco quickly left the window and ran down the stairs in hope that it was the person he thought it to be.

Ginny stood up and began to throw rocks into the lake. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could see the giant squid or some of the other creatures that lived in the lake. She didn't hear the person behind her until they spoke.

"You're lucky I'm not on prefect duty tonight, weasel, or I might have to dock some house points," said the cold voice. Ginny instantly turned around and jumped back in surprise. Just her luck, it was Draco Malfoy.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She said with distaste in her voice.

"That's _my _business, Weasley. But a better question is what are you doing out here when its three in the morning? No doubt eating," He said when he glanced at the unfinished food, "I guess you got hungry after missing the feast."

"How did you know I missed the feast?" Ginny asked.

"I noticed that there wasn't anyone bowing and scraping and Potter's feet. That's usually your position isn't it?" He said with a smirk. Although he could barely see her face Draco knew that would make her angry, but she didn't answer.

"I don't believe you answered the question I asked earlier, so I'll just repeat it. Does each one hurt more than the one before?" He asked. There was silence for a few moments before Ginny answered, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Malfoy."

"Oh, I think you do weasel," he replied, "the expression on your face just gave the whole thing away. And by the way, your little method of relief won't hold up forever. I assume that's why you didn't attend the feast."

Ginny's jaw dropped. _He _knew? How could he possibly know? She had been as subtle about it as possible. How could he have found out? Draco turned around and began to head up to the castle.

"Malfoy wait!" Ginny called. He stopped and turned around when she asked, "How did you know?"

"Fear, pain, suffering and disgrace; I can see it all in your eyes. Your eyes, Ginny, are a mirror into your soul."

A/N: A little more Draco/Ginny stuff there. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I had some extra time on my hands tonight so I got you guys another chapter.


	8. Weak

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 8 Weak

_"lie to me,  
convince me I've been sick forever.  
and all of this will make sense when I get better.  
I know the difference between myself and my reflection.  
I just can't help but wonder,  
which of us do you love?"  
-evanescence_

"Ginny, get up, you're going to be late for lessons," said Hermione as she shook Ginny. Ginny's mouth twitched and her fingers moved but she was still very asleep. Hermione grabbed one of her pillows and threw it at her has hard as she could, hitting her squarely in the face.

Ginny sat up suddenly, "What the fuck? Can't you tell I'm trying to sleep?" she screamed at Hermione.

"Yea, well you've slept too long. Classes start in fifteen minutes and you already missed breakfast so you better hurry up! And just because you look like crap doesn't mean I'm going to excuse you from the first day," Hermione added looking at Ginny's pale face and the bags under her eyes.

"Well thank for the support, Hermione," Ginny responded sarcastically as she walked over to the mirror. But she agreed; staying up very late had taken a toll on her appearance. Her face was very pale, her natural curly hair hung limp around her face, and two very noticeable bags were just bellow her eyes.

"Don't forget to check your schedule, Gin," Hermione said quietly before leaving the room. Ginny walked over to her trunk and began to rummage through it, looking for her schedule. When she finally found it, it said:

Weasley, Virginia Molly Year 6

_Schedule:  
DADA 7  
Potions 7  
Herbology 6  
Lunch  
History of Magic 6  
Care of Magical Creatures 6  
Charms 7  
Transfiguration 6_

Ginny opened her mouth in shock. How could three of her classes be seventh year classes? She quickly got changed and headed to Professor McGonagall's office.

She knocked on the office door and waited for permission to enter. "Come in," said a voice from inside. Ginny opened the door and stepped in.

"Yes, Ms. Weasley, what can I help you with," said the professor not looking up from her work.

"Well professor, you see, I just looked at my schedule this morning and I think something's wrong with it. Three of my classes are seventh year classes and I'm only a sixth year. So I was hoping you could maybe fix this," Ginny said hesitantly.

"Sorry I did not inform you earlier Ms. Weasley, but there is nothing wrong with your schedule. You excelled in these three classes and you were at the top of your year. The headmaster saw it best that you move ahead one year in these classes so that you would be presented with a challenge. No doubt re-learning things you already know would come as a bore," McGongall said giving Ginny a short smile, "I suggest you get to your class Ms. Weasley, we don't want you to be late." _  
_

She hurried Ginny out the door and left her there to stand. _"This is just what I need," _Ginny thought to herself sarcastically. As if her problems weren't bad enough already she was now in three seventh year classes. _"A sixth year with the homework and classes of a seventh year, wonderful," _she thought again. She turned and began to head to her first class hoping it wouldn't be as bad as it seemed.

0+0+0+0+0+0+0

It was lunch and Ginny sat in the great hall, picking at her food. She wasn't at all hungry. DADA had been bearable, but also difficult and very advanced. The class was very far ahead from what she had learned in her fifth year. She felt like a child who knew nothing and everything was too hard to understand. Potions had been the worst out of her morning classes. She had managed to lose thirty-five house points and get yelled at three times by Professor Snape, all in the same day. Hermione walked over to Ginny and sat down.

"Hey, Ginny. How were your first three classes?" She asked.

"Okay, I guess. Nothing special," Ginny replied with no emotion in her voice, "Where's my brother and wonder boy?"

"Oh, I think they're coming down now. I left them in the common room talking about Quidditch," She said.

She watched Ginny get up and start to leave, "Gin, where you going? You hardly ate lunch."

"That okay, I wasn't very hungry in the first place. I guess I'll go to the library and get some work done," she said as she walked away.

Ginny really was planning on going to the library. The work Snape had assigned was enormous and had to be done by Friday. But as she heard Ron and Harry's voices she quickly hid in the shadow of a statue.

"Harry I just don't get why you care so much," Ron said shrugging his shoulders, "She's just my sister, no one special, no one important."

"Ron, I really think we should spend some more time with her. Ginny's just seemed so distant and cold ever since we got here and it's bugging me," Harry said seriously.

"I don't believe it. Harry, she's just playing one of her stupid little girl tricks to get everyone's attention. She did it all summer long and now she's doing it here. Just ignore her for a couple days and she become the normal Ginny again," Ron said with a laugh. But he turned serious again when he asked, "Why do you like her or something?"

"No, I don't like her. I like Hermione and you know that," he replied.

"Yea, yea," said Ron shaking it off, "wouldn't that be funny? If you actually liked Ginny and she had already gotten over you? That would be hysterical! I mean come on, who would like Ginny anyway? She's too weird," Ron said and both boys entered the great hall laughing.

Ginny felt like there was a boulder holding down her heart. She ran looking for an empty place to be alone in. She reached the second floor girl's bathroom and quickly ran in locking the door behind her. She sank to the floor and began to weep. It had been an entire month since she had cried and now everything was coming out. With each sob her body would shake. She willed herself to stop but the tears kept coming.

"Tears are for the weak. I'm not weak so I can't cry. The knife cries for me so I won't have to," Ginny sobbed to herself and repeated, "the knife cries for me."

Still sitting on the floor she looked up at her surroundings. She recognized it immediately and remembered all that had happened. This was the place that had ruined and practically killed her.

"Why did you betray me, Tom?" she whispered softly, "friends don't do that. Friends don't betray each other, Tom."

Ginny stood up and walked to the mirror. "Why did you leave me, Tom? Why?" she began to scream.

"You were my best friend, my only friend. How could you do this to me? How could you?" She screamed into the silence.

"I trusted you, I loved you. Why did you leave me? What did I do to deserve this?" she screamed again.

"How the fuck could you do this to me? I hate you! Do you hear me? I fucking hate you!"

Ginny grabbed her knife from her pocket and carved 'I Hate You' on her arm, then on her leg and finally on her chest. She sank to the floor again in sobs and watched the blood flow freely from her.

"Did you hear me, Tom? I hate you,"

A/N: Yeah, it's kinda dark there at the end. Sorry to **ShadowontheMoon** that there isn't enough D/G stuff yet but don' worry there will be plenty more to come._  
_


	9. Save Me

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 9 Save Me

"_Bound at every limb by my shackles of fear  
Sealed with lies through so many tears  
Lost from within, pursuing the end  
I fight for the chance to be lied to again  
You will never be strong enough  
You will never be good enough  
You were never be conceived in love  
You will not rise above"_

_Evanescence_

"Now I know I'm pulling you all from your lunch, but this is very important," said Professor Dumbledore with a smile, "Someone, probably a student, has stolen some of Mr. Filch's personal possessions and he would like them back as soon as possible. So your task is to search the castle for the items listed. That will be all and please do your best."

Draco snickered in the back corner. This was one of the more pathetic tasks he was asked to complete. _"You're just lucky Pansy isn't here,"_ he reminded himself, shuddering at the thought. Gods know what she would be trying to do at this point. _"Well at least I get out of class and maybe there'll be a reward or something," _

"Hah, yea right, a reward my ass," he said out loud, "this damned school can't even afford proper plumbing."

Draco was now looking at the floor. He was standing in water at least half of an inch deep. He then remembered which floor he was on; the second floor always had problems with the girls' bathroom. No one ever went in there on account of the crazed ghost Myrtle, so it was always empty. _"This might be the perfect place to hide something. No one would ever know," _Draco thought.

He walked over and slightly pushed open the door. "Hello? Is anyone in here?" Draco called. A few seconds later he heard a soft moan and pushed the door open.

Blood was everywhere. It was on the mirror and on the ground, even on the sink. He quickly tried to find the source, speeding up as another moan was heard, this time a little louder. Then he saw her; Ginny Weasley was drenched in her own blood. There was so much blood he wasn't sure where most of it was coming from. She was deathly pale and barely conscious. She didn't speak but only moaned still unaware of what was happening. Draco grabbed one of her arm sleeves and tore it off. He wrapped it around the arm that was bleeding the most and then finally took notice of what each cut had made.

"I Hate You," he said softly. Then he noticed it again on her leg and again on her chest. He quickly tore off her other sleeve and wrapped it around he leg, but there was still blood coming from her chest. He needed to get her to his private room without being seen. Draco picked up her limp body, feeling how cold it was. He carried her over to the door and poked his head out, hoping no one was walking by. When he saw no one he carried her over to the secret passage that was only a few feet away. He knew this passage would take him to the dungeons only now hoping nobody was down there either. He quickly opened it and began to hurriedly walk down the stairs. Draco saw no one in the dungeons and headed to his private room. He gently laid her on the bed and began to wrap bandages from one of his drawers around her arm and leg. For Ginny's sake the cuts on her chest were up high enough that he would only have to lower a small portion of her shirt to wrap it. He picked up her still limp legs and placed them under the covers. And then he prayed; he prayed that she would come back to him.

It had been an hour since Draco had brought Ginny to his private room and saved her from what could have been her death. Ginny's eyes fluttered open and everything that happened came by in a flash. _Ron making fun of her. Running into the bathroom. Crying. Screaming at Tom for betraying her. Carving 'I Hate You' onto herself. _Ginny sat up instantly looking at the dresser beside the bed. She needed her knife really bad. When she didn't see it in the dresser she panicked and began to throw the clothes out in a desperate search for her knife. "Where is it?" she shrieked and sank to the floor. She was on the brink of tears again, but forced herself not to cry. _"Tears are for the weak and pathetic. Strong girls don't cry. Strong girls have their knives," _she reminded herself.

"Strong girls don't cry," she repeated not noticing someone was in the room until they spoke.

"Looking for something, Weasley?" Draco asked wit his usual cold voice. But if he hadn't forced himself to sound so cold and distant his voice would have been filled with worry.

"No, I wasn't looking for anything. W-where I am? W-why am I wearing these bandages?" she asked, frantically looking around.

"If I do recall, I just saved you from what could have been your death," he said with another cold tone.

Ginny stood up and began to walk around the room in search for her knife. She did not care what Draco Malfoy was blabbering on about; all she needed was her security.

"Looking for this?" Draco said holding out her knife. Ginny's eyes widened as she walked over. She quickly snatched the unsheathed blade and stared at it. Draco watched as her eyes glazed over and she began to stroke the handle. He needed to distract her and fast.

"Weasley, why do you hate yourself?" he asked. Ginny lost her glazed over look and slowly turned toward him.

"Hate myself?" she repeated with a confused expression, "I-I don't hate myself."

"Then why is it carved all over your body?" he questioned.

"Oh, its-its nothing, nothing at all," she responded, but at that moment she felt tears swell in her eyes. She tried to cover them with a fake smile but it vanished when she saw the seriousness on Draco's face.

"I don't think it's nothing. Tell me Ginny, who has control? You or the knife?" he asked.

"I-I do," she stammered. A tear slipped down her cheek and she brushed it away.

"Then why is it you cut more and more? It started out as once or twice every two weeks. Now it's once or twice every two days, isn't it?" He said with a harshness he didn't mean.

"Yea, so what? It's no your concern anyway," She said as another tear slipped.

Draco scoffed, "I think its very much concern when my robes are covered in your blood and you're practically dying in my arms."

"Well what do you know about? Nothing," She snapped irritably.

"Then let me show you what I don't seem to know," He said stepping closer to her. Ginny stepped back in fear. Was he going to do something to her? But he slowly rolled up each sleeve of his robe and bore his wrists out to Ginny. On each wrist there was one thick and long scar. The scar was barely visible against his already pale skin, but could be seen in the light. Ginny rubbed her fingertips against his scar. And for a brief second she could feel his pain too. "How?" was all she could ask.

"When I was ten. My father used to beat me on a regular basis. I experienced everything you are now. I was only a child, I didn't know what I was doing and I sure as hell didn't know what there was to look forward to in the future. But instead of trying to ease the pain, like you, I tried to end it all. One night I took a blade from the kitchen and slashed both wrists. I sat on the floor watching the blood leave me and welcoming death with all my heart. I was inches away from it when my father found me; he was furious. He wrapped my wrists tightly and then gave me a blood-replenishing potion. After that I never tried to cut again. The beatings had stopped and I guessed my father found me more valuable to him alive rather than dead. So ever since I've never attempted," Draco finished with a sigh.

Ginny just stared at him in silence. She didn't know what to say. She just stared in silence until he finally asked,

"Ginny, why don't you cry? Crying is good for you; it releases the pain better than cutting does."

"Strong girls don't cry," she replied with a sad smile and sat down on the bed.

"Why didn't you just leave me there? I was better of dead," she suddenly asked.

"No one is better off dead," he said, "And I would feel completely horrible and guilty for leaving you there to die."

Why? Why did you of all people save me?" Ginny questioned.

"Because someone had to notice the hurting invisible girl in the corner. I guess it just happened to be me, " Draco replied with a smile. Not a smirk or a glare, but a true smile. But his smile vanished when Ginny stood up and gave him a glare.

"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help. I don't need to be saved so just do me a favor and stay away," she snarled and stalked out leaving behind a very hurt and confused Draco.

Ginny ran all the way up to the seventh floor, but couldn't enter since the fat lady was gone. She pounded her fists against the portrait and let out a scream. She sank to the floor again, tears streaming down her face. But the truth was Ginny did want to be saved. She wanted to be noticed, cared for, and loved, but the thought of losing what she had now scared her. She was afraid to lose the world she had created with just her and her knife. But even more she wanted back her sweet reality.

A/N: I know a bunch of you guys have been asking for more Draco/Ginny stuff so here you go. I know they aren't being romantic yet or anything, but I don't want to rush the story. Well I hoped you enjoyed anyway. (I also know the beginning of the story with Dumbledore was kinda lame but I needed a reason for Draco to go up there and actually look in the bathroom.)


	10. Give Unto Me

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 10 Give Unto Me

"_I've been watching you from a distance  
The distance sees through your disguise  
All I want from you is your hurting  
I want to heal you  
I want to save you from the dark _

Give unto me your troubles  
I'll endure your suffering  
Place onto me your burden  
I'll drink your deadly poison"

_-evanescence_

His eyes were constantly watching her. She had to force herself to look down or she would be caught in his silver gaze. It had been three weeks since she had left Draco's room. Since then he had always watched her. No matter it be breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in the hallways his eyes always followed her. Ginny felt trapped; she had no where to turn and his eyes could see into the depths of her soul. She feared meeting contact with his gaze because she knew he would see her for what she truly was.

Ginny had been at dinner for at least half of an hour. She had already skipped breakfast and lunch so she wouldn't feel his gaze upon her. If she skipped dinner too someone would surely notice and question her, wouldn't they? Maybe, maybe not.

Draco stared at her from across the hall. He watched as she struggled to keep her head down so he wouldn't meet her eyes. He watched as all the seventh years surrounding her paid no attention to her at all. They laughed and joked while she sat in the middle of it, completely invisible.

Ginny couldn't take it anymore. His gaze had become too strong and she almost looked up. She needed to leave as soon she could; she needed her knife. Her breathing became strained and quick as her surroundings sped by in a blur. She got up and stumbled out of her seat almost falling to the ground. She picked herself up, ignoring the scrape on her knee, and quickly fled the great hall.

Draco watched as the youngest Weasley desperately looked around. He watched as she pushed her way out of her seat and stumbled to the ground. He then watched as she fled the great hall. It amazed him how no one from Gryffindor saw her leave. Even when she fell no one took notice or even glanced in her direction. Wasn't that what Gryffindors did? Weren't they supposed to take notice of their fellow housemates? Weren't they supposed to show compassion? But Draco saw no compassion; he only saw all of them fawning over their precious Potter.

Draco stood up silently and began to exit the hall, ignoring Pansy's cries of protests.

Ginny, now on the first floor, took the knife out of her pocket and began to cut. She made four quick but somewhat deep cuts on her arms. She waited for the ache to lessen, but it didn't. So she cut again and again. Nothing was happening and she let out an angered cry. _"Why isn't this working?" _she thought frantically. She cuts two more times but still the relief would not come. She let out another angered cry and then heard footsteps. She knew it was Draco and quickly began to scramble up the steps.

Draco heard her cries and then watched her scramble up the steps. He quietly trailed behind her and followed her to the astronomy tower.

Ginny ran up the steps to the astronomy tower and pushed open the doors. She felt a cool rush of wind that left her skin tingling. She stepped out into the night, trying to enjoy it for all it was worth.

Draco stopped at the top of the stairs and watched Ginny silently.

"I didn't work, did it?" he said already knowing the answer.

"Why don't you just leave me alone!" she hissed still not meeting his eyes.

"Because someone needs to save you," Draco replied.

"Why do you care? I'm not important to you," she snapped.

"I care because no one else does." Draco said. At that moment Ginny stopped. It was the truth and no matter how much she hated it, that would always be truth. Ginny turned and finally met his gaze. She saw the worry in his eyes and she felt the wave of tears flood into hers. But she fought each one down with all the strength she had.

Draco stared into her eyes and saw everything that was kept locked up. He saw as tears flooded her eyes and watched as she desperately tried to push them back. He watched as she willed the tears to go away and remembered what she had said, _"Strong girls don't cry."_

"Ginny," he said softly but kindly, "it's alright to cry." He watched as she sank to the floor and the strength vanished. She let out a small sob and then a larger one as her body began to shake. Draco rushed over to her, went down on his knees and held her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck and let the tears come. He held her tighter as she sobbed into his chest. He gently ran his fingers through her hair as one small tear fell on his cheek.

"Give me all of it, Ginny. Give me all your pain and suffering let me make it go away. Let me save you," He whispered softly. Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck stronger and let all of her emotions out.

A/N: Kind of sad there at the end. But there's more D/G stuff happening. Sorry this chapter is short, but I didn't want to put too much into it. I think this one is okay short but let me know what you guys think!


	11. Strong Girls Don't Cry

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 11 Strong Girls Don't Cry

"_You're too important for anyone  
There's something wrong with everything you see  
But I, I know who you really are  
You're the one who cries when you're alone_

You think that I can't see right through your eyes  
Scared to death to face reality  
No one seems to hear your hidden cries  
You're left to face yourself alone"

_-evanescence_

Ginny didn't know how long she had been crying in his arms. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. All she knew was that the tears wouldn't stop falling and with each sob he would say comforting words. She slowly started to push the tears back in. Even though Draco knew her secrets the others didn't. If she let all her emotions out she wasn't sure she would be able to keep them in around the others. Slowly she pulled away and looked into Draco's eyes, studying them with intensity. They were usually a dark gray when he was around others and an even darker gray when he was around Gryffindors. But know they were a light gray filled with worry, care and maybe even love? Ginny gave a small smile; she had something to live for now, something worth while. She wasn't completely gone although most of her still was.

Draco felt Ginny's sobs lessen as he whispered comforting words into her ear. It wasn't much, but he knew it would bring her a small comfort. He felt her slowly pull away, along with the warmth she had given him. As she pulled back she looked into his eyes and he looked into hers. They were red and puffy from her crying, but Draco still thought them pretty. He still saw the pain and fear in her eyes but there was something else. Hope. He saw hope and it made him happy that she had something to hope for. They both sat in silence staring into each other's eyes.

Ginny finally spoke, "I think I need to get back to the common room now."

Draco nodded and walked her down to the seventh floor. When they reached the portrait hole Ginny said, "Thank you for everything, Draco. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

With that she gave him a quick hug and walked into her common room. Draco stood there for a few moments with a smile on his face. He had offered to save her and she had finally accepted and that could only make him one of the happiest people alive.

Ginny entered the common room and saw Harry, Hermione and Ron sitting by the fire and talking. Of course they didn't see her, but at the moment she could care less. She headed to her room and sat on her bed pulling the drapes around her. She took the knife out of her pocket and stared at it. She looked at its sharp edge and felt its heavy handle, but got no urge to cut. Her heart felt no weight and her breathing was calm and steady. So she stuck the knife under her pillow and climbed under the covers hoping the next day would be a brighter one.

Ginny woke at six in the morning feeling better than she had in along time. It had been the first night she hadn't had a nightmare and it had been the first night she hadn't woken in a cold sweat clutching her knife. She climbed out of bed and headed for the showers. When she returned it was seven and she still had time before breakfast. She took the knife from underneath her pillow and stared it, twirling it in her hand. But she still felt no urge to cut and she still felt no weight on her heart. She let out a sigh filled with both relief and frustration. She was relieved that she had found another possible way to deal with her pain. But she was frustrated that if her new way to deal with the pain worked that she would have no use for her knife. And her knife had been her best friend through out the summer and since the beginning of the year. She didn't know if she could lose her only friend and it scared her and confused her. She stuck the knife in her pocket and made a deal with herself. She would not cut for the sake of it; she would not cut just to have her friend still close to her.

The trio was already eating at the Gryffindor table when Ginny entered the great hall. She gave a quick glance at the Slytherin table and saw Draco watching her. This time not feeling any fear she made short eye contact with him and walked over to her table. She grabbed and orange and a piece of toast and sat down next to Hermione. Once again the trio had not bothered to acknowledge her presence among them but continued talking as if she was not there at all. They were all talking animatedly about their upcoming tests and homework assignments, which Ginny could care less about. But she still payed a small amount of attention just in case one of them noticed her existence and bothered to say something. But as always no one noticed and Ginny finished her breakfast with the same silence she had sat down with.

As breakfast ended and Ginny left the great hall she noticed Draco in the corridor and walked over to him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?" he asked pleasantly.

"Yes I did, as a matter of fact," she replied with the same pleasant voice.

"Well, that's good. I was wondering if you wanted to spend sometime together and talk, maybe this week?" he asked.

"Sure, that sounds great. How about tomorrow night in the astronomy tower?" she replied.

"Okay. See you then," Draco said and left to his classes. Ginny continued down the corridor with a smile on her face.

0+0+0+0+0+0

Her morning classes had been somewhat decent. So far the day was going good for her, especially since she felt no urge to cut. She had also managed to not get yelled at in potions. She was even amazed by it, hoping her luck would stay. Ginny had decided to skip lunch since she didn't feel very hungry. She walked into the common room and saw Hermione sitting on the couch. Not saying anything, she headed up to her room, but stopped when Hermione spoke.

"Hey Ginny, wait up," Hermione called. Ginny turned around, this probably wasn't good. Hermione only spoke to her when she wanted to know something or did know something.

"Hey Hermione," she said faintly.

"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you real quick. Do you want to sit down?" Hermione said gesturing to the couch.

"Alright," Ginny said with a sigh and followed her to the couch.

"I wanted to talk to you before Ron came up here and went ballistic," she started off, " I, umm, I saw you talking to Malfoy after breakfast and I wanted to know why you were."

"And you told Ron?" Ginny squealed.

"Yea, and Harry too. I mean they have a right to know," Hermione said pointedly.

Ginny grew quick with anger. She was angry that Hermione had seen her and Draco in the first place but was even angrier at the fact that she just had to tell Ron and Harry. Did all three of them want to make he life even more miserable?

Ron and Harry came hurrying into the common room and walked straight up to the couch.

"Virginia, why were you talking to the ferret this morning," Ron questioned trying to hold back the anger in his voice. She winced when he used her full first name, it always meant he was angry. But her anger came back quickly when she heard him call Draco 'ferret'.

"What's it to you?" She said coldly.

"Don't give me that attitude, Virginia. I'm your brother and your protector and I have a right to know why you were conversing with the enemy," he said with anger in his voce. He then shouted when she gave no reply, "Tell me now!"

"I don't have to tell you shit," she snarled, "You may be my brother but your not my protector and you certainly haven't been when I needed protection the most."

"Ginny-" Harry started, but she cut him off.

"No, don't give me that Potter! Maybe it's just me, but it seems that only when you think I need saving you come to my rescue. Or maybe it's just that not enough people are worshipping you, so you have to save someone just to get back in the spotlight. I can see it all in your eyes, you don't care about me, all you care about is the fame and glory. Well you can take your precious fame and glory and shove it up your ass because I don't need your help and I don't need you to rescue me!" Ginny snapped.

"Ginny, why can't you just see that we don't want you to get hurt?" Hermione asked as Ginny turned to leave.

"I'm already hurting but you three idiots can't see it. No, you can't because you're already too wrapped in yourselves to see anything," Ginny said angrily.

"Please, Ginny. Please don't turn your back on us. All we want to do is help you with whatever problem you're having," Harry begged.

"Oh, so I have a problem now?" Ginny replied sarcastically," You know, all three of you are the knights in shining in armor waiting to rescue a damsel in distress from the dragon. The famous and wonderful trio. But you're all too caught up in each other to see that I'm hanging of the cliff by one hand. And when I fell from the cliff, who saved me? The dragon did."

With that Ginny ran to her room and slammed the door. Tears were slipping down her cheeks as she tried to force them to leave.

"Strong girls don't cry. Strong girls don't cry. Strong girls don't cry," she repeated again and again but the tears wouldn't cease. She felt her breath leave and her surroundings speed by. She quickly grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote:

_Draco,_

_I've changed my mind. Meet me tonight in the astronomy tower._

_-Ginny_

She quickly attached it to her owl and sent it off. Ginny then took the knife from her pocket. She wasn't going to cry because she was strong. She wasn't going to cry because the knife would bleed for her.

A/N: Ron, Harry and Hermione get closer to finding out about Ginny but they are still completely clueless. Well this chapter is longer than the one before and I hope you all are happy with it. Tell me what you think!


	12. Parts of Me

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 12 Parts of Me

"Lying beside you, listening to you breathe  
the life that flows inside of you burns inside of me

_Cast me not away, say you'll be with me  
For I know I cannot bear it all alone _

Can't fight it all away  
Can't hope it all away  
Can't scream it all away  
It just won't fade away"

_-evanescence_

Draco hadn't seen them at lunch. The trio didn't show up and neither did Ginny. _"Something must have happened,"_ he thought. There was still time left but Draco decided to go to his room. Maybe Ginny would send him a note, he could only hope. When he arrived in his room he recognized Ginny's owl with a letter attached to its leg. He sent the owl off and quickly opened the note. He read the few words she had written and noticed the tear-stained smudges of ink on it. Something must have happened. He wrote:

Meet me there after dinner.

_-Draco_

on the back and attached it to his owl. As he watched the owl fly off he wished he could have written more. But he didn't want to make her more emotional then she appeared to be. Whatever had happened he would ask her when they met. As lunch ended and he began to leave for class, Draco's mind remained on Ginny and what could have gone wrong.

0+0+0+0+0+0

Ginny had made some man cuts she didn't bother to count. She had locked the door so no one would come in but a simple _'Alohomora'_ could easily open the door. But Ginny didn't care, Hermione could come bursting through the door and see everything Ginny had worked so hard to keep quiet and Ginny would keep on cutting. But she knew Hermione wouldn't come in. Hermione stayed outside leaning against the door, begging Ginny to come out. It took five minutes of Hermione whining and then Ginny finally said,

"Leave me alone, Hermione. You're going to be late for class anyway."

to get Hermione to leave. Ginny didn't bother to clean up because she wasn't even going to bother to go to class. All she wanted to do was sit in her own world with just her and her knife and watch the blood flow from her arms and legs. After fifteen minutes had passed Ginny saw Draco's bird tapping at the window. She slowly got up, still clutching her knife, and took the note as the bird flew off. She read it and silently thanked Draco for not asking what had happened. She wasn't sure if she could go through what had just happened again. It would be better to tell Draco in person, and hopefully it would make her feel better. Ginny let out a sigh and went to the bathroom to get a towel.

She put the towel under water and then cleaned up the blood that had touched the floor. Then she slowly wiped of the blood that occupied her arms and legs. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up earlier in the day. She knew something bad would happen and it did. If she got her hopes up that only meant it would hurt more when she came crashing down. Ginny curled up her bed, holding the knife tight to her chest. All she wanted was to be left invisible from now on. She didn't want to be noticed anymore. Even though she begged to be invisible she knew a part of her wanted to come back to reality. And a small part of her already had, through Draco.

After his afternoon classes had ended Draco walked to Dinner. But before he could enter the great hall Ron, accompanied by Harry and Hermione came rushing up to him.

"Weasel, Scar head, Mudblood what can I do for you this evening?" he drawled.

"Malfoy, you better stay the hell away from my sister, or else," Ron said with anger in his voice.

"Or else what," Draco questioned and then let out a laugh, "Weasel you don't scare me. I hear that Scar head and Mudblood are getting pretty close. Tell me Weasel, how many times did this _Mudblood_ fuck you before she got bored and moved onto Potter?"

Ron threw himself at Draco but Harry and Hermione held him back with all their strength. They pulled him back and into the great hall.

"You better watch yourself, Malfoy," Hermione called. Draco gave another laugh. Potter and his sidekicks didn't scare him. Draco decided to skip dinner, he was sure Ginny wouldn't be there anyway. So he began his way up the stairs toward the astronomy tower. When he reached the top he saw Ginny lying on her back and gazing at the stars.

"You're here early," He said.

"I know," she said with a sad voice, "I didn't feel like dealing with _them _all through dinner."

Draco gently sat down and laid back gazing at the stars as well. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" He asked. Ginny was grateful that he had asked if she wanted to talk about it rather demanding it from her. Ginny sat up, gave a sigh, and told Draco the events of the afternoon. He didn't interrupt her at all and just stared into her eyes as she told her tale. By the end of it all, Ginny was on the brink of tears. Draco sat up and pulled her into a close hug, whispering gentle words into her ear.

Ginny let a few tears fall but kept the rest inside. She slowly pulled back from Draco and began to roll up her sleeves and pull down her knee socks.

Draco saw so many cuts. So many that he couldn't even count. They covered her arms and when she had run out of space she had cut over the old scars. Her legs were covered in cuts too. They crossed over each other and went in different directions almost forming a pattern.

"Oh Ginny," was all Draco could say. Ginny let another tear slip out as she the sadness and care in Draco's eyes. She hated seeing those she loved in pain, especially over her. She frankly thought she wasn't even worth it.

"Why?" was all he could ask and looked straight in her eyes.

"Because strong girls don't cry when they have their knives to bleed for them," she said quietly as she brushed the tear off her cheek.

"What are you scared of?" Draco asked suddenly.

"I'm not scared of anything," she replied trying to sound brave but her voice came out shaky and weak.

"Then why don't you cry Ginny? Is it because you're afraid he'll think you're weak? You don't want him to think you're weak, do you? In spite of all he did to you and is still doing to you, you want him to think you're still strong and you can still handle it. But deep down you're breaking inside and you know it too. That's why you cut, isn't it? So you won't break all the way but you'll live. But Gin, with each cut you make you come closer to breaking and become farther away from what you truly desire don't you?" he questioned.

"I don't know, Draco, I really don't know anymore," she sighed.

"Tell me, Ginny, do you want to come back to everything you used to know?" Draco asked searching her eyes for the answer.

"Yes," she said, but hesitated before saying, "and no."

"Apart of me does want to come back," she started, "and this part of me wants to be noticed, loved, and cared for. And this part of me wants to have real friends again, not just my knife. But this other part of me wants to stay in my own world where I control what happens and my best friend is my knife; the one who brings me back each time. That part of me doesn't want to be noticed because when someone notices you, they know more and more things that you don't want them to. When you're hidden in the corner you can stay in your own imaginary world where you have a friend who cares and loves you. No one pays attention to you and you drift on by, left in a world all to yourself. But at the same time I hate because, because-"

"You're so lonely," Draco finished and Ginny gave a small nod.

"You know, when I told Hermione I was already hurting she gave me this look. This look like she actually almost understood what I was saying," Ginny said with a nervous laugh.

"I don't know what I'd do if my family found out. They'd probably hate me. I can picture it right now, my mum screaming at me because she thinks I want attention and my brothers laughing at me, saying I'm just a foolish little girl. Why can't they see I'm not a little girl anymore?" She asked as tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks.

"Gin, you're family isn't going to hate you, they love you," said Draco sympathetically.

"Yes they will. And then my mum will ask me why. And what do I say then? What do I tell them then, Draco?"

"You'll tell them the truth because lies will just make everything worse. You'll tell them all your feelings but you'll tell them not to worry because someone's helping you, because someone's saving you. And Gin, your family does truly love you. Even if they treat you like dirt and you feel invisible deep down there is a true love that nothing can break. A love I'll never know," he ended sadly.

Draco how can you say that? Of course your mum and dad love you," Ginny said.

"My father doesn't love me, he never has. I'm just another pawn on his giant chessboard of life. I'm just another person who gets him closer to Voldemort. If he had no use for me I wouldn't be alive now. My mother she doesn't love me either. More than half of her life is spent in her bedroom crying in fear of my father. She shows sympathy towards me but no emotion that comes even close to love. Why do you think I am the why I am? Why do you think I'm such a cold heartless bastard all the time? Its because no one cares and no one has ever shown love towards me therefore I don't know how to love." Draco ended. Ginny saw the pain in his eyes. She pulled herself close to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"That's not true Draco," Ginny whispered, "I care about you and I love you."

Ginny held him tighter. She was going to show him somebody cared, whether or not he saved her Ginny was going to show him that she would be there.

A/N: Some more Ginny/Draco stuff for you guys. And when Ginny says she loves Draco right now, she means she loves him as a sister loves a brother or a friend loves a friend. But don't worry, they're love could grow into something more. But I won't tell you guys yet!


	13. Suprises

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 13 Surprises

"_I'm so sick of speaking words that no one understands  
is it clear enough that you can't live your whole life all alone  
I can hear you in a whisper  
but you can't even hear me screaming_

_"I realize you're afraid  
but you can't reject the whole world  
you can't escape  
You don't want to escape"_

_-Evanescence_

It was already late October and Ginny was still avoiding Harry, Ron, and Hermione like the plague. Ron and Harry had given up on talking to her but every now and then Hermione would try to speak to her. Ginny would just shoot her a death glare before stalking out of the room. She had continued to spend time with Draco in the astronomy tower at least four times a week. They would always talk about their day and how they felt about certain things. Ginny would always come back to the common room feeling relieved and stress free.

Ginny was currently sitting at the Gryffindor table trying to eat her breakfast. She never was particularly hungry anymore. As Ginny silently played with her porridge Professor Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement.

"Ahem, Could I have all of your attention please?" He said. Instantly the great hall became quiet and almost ever face was looking in the headmaster's direction.

"I would like to announce that w won't be having our usual Halloween Feast," Dumbledore said with a smile as murmurs erupted through the crowd, "Instead we will be having a Masquerade Ball for the fourth years and up. Younger students will get their feast in the common room. I am sorry that I did not inform you of this event sooner, but I decided it was best to keep it a surprise."

Smiles broke out across student's faces as if the greatest thing to happen at Hogwarts had finally came. Ginny groaned and laughed inwardly. _"Just another event to add to my list of Hogwart's Events I won't be attending," _she thought to herself.

Ginny got up and left the great hall. She was going to be early for class but she preferred that rather than the usual rush of students trying to leave all at once.

"Ginny wait up!" She heard someone call. She gave another groan; Hermione just couldn't leave her alone, could she?

"Hermione I really-" but Ginny stopped when she saw it wasn't Hermione, "Oh, hey Luna."

"Hey Gin. What's up? I haven't talked to you in a while," Luna said.

"Not much. Is there something you need my help with?" she asked when she saw the hesitant look on Luna's face.

"Actually there is. Ron just asked me to the ball and I just wanted to make sure it was okay with you. Because if it isn't I sware I won't go with him!" Luna added quickly.

Ginny gave a small laugh, "Of course it's okay with me. In fact I couldn't think of anyone better to go with you. My brother can be a good guy. Even if he treats me like the dirt beneath his feet doesn't mean he treats other girls the same way."

"Oh, thank you!" Luna squealed and gave Ginny a tight hug, "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay before I said yes. You know I don't want you to hate me. Even though we're not that close I still consider you an important friend."

"No problem Luna," Ginny said and began to head up the staircase.

"Gin? I was also wondering if you could maybe go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend. That way we can both pick out our dresses together."

"Well I wasn't planning on going to the ball, but I'll help you pick out your dress."

0+0+0+0+0+0+0

Ginny sat in the astronomy tower during lunch. Her classes had gone fairly well and her talk with Luna had lifted her spirits, but she didn't want to get her hope up too much. With her luck, Hermione would confront her about some other issue at lunch. It was better she spend her lunch alone so nothing could happen; especially since she hadn't cut since the night before. She hoped it would stay that way for a while. She had had been sitting in the tower for about ten minutes when she heard footsteps. Ginny quickly turned around to find it was Draco.

"How'd you know I was here?" Ginny asked.

"It wasn't that hard, Gin. You'd either be up here or in your room, so I figured I'd try this one first," Draco said, "Why? You don't want to see me?"

Ginny gave a smile, "You know I always want to see you. So what's up?"

"Well you weren't at lunch and you barely ate breakfast so I thought you would be hungry," he said.

"Well, I'm not," Ginny replied, but at that moment her stomach gave a deep growl. Draco gave her a _' I told you so' _look and then tossed her an apple and a pear.

"Thanks," was all Ginny mumbled before she started to devour her pear.

"So what's going on with you and Luna? I saw you two talking after breakfast," Draco started.

"Ohh," said Ginny with a small laugh, "she wanted to make sure it was okay with me if she went with my brother to the ball. It really surprised me, I wasn't expecting it at all. It put me in such a good mood I agreed to go shopping with her for her gown."

"See Ginny? I'm not the only one who has noticed you," Draco said with a smile.

"Yea, I guess you right," she replied taking another bite out of her pear, "We've never been that close, but when I agreed to go with her this weekend she seemed really happy. But I know Draco Malfoy didn't walk all the way up here just to bring low life muggle-loving Ginny Weasley some food. I wonder what he's here for?"

Ginny gave another laugh as she saw the expression on Draco's face.

"Well I am here to talk to you about something too," Draco began.

"And..?" said Ginny, urging him to continue.

"Since I don't have anyone to go with to the dance and you don't have anyone to go with I thought maybe we could go as friends," he said with hesitation in his face.

"Hmm, I don't know," Ginny said but a playful smile spread over her lips, "Of course I'll go with you!"

"Good, I knew you couldn't resist," Draco said with a smirk.

Ginny slapped his arm, but then gave him a hug. Her day was turning out to be great, and maybe it would continue through the weekend.

0+0+0+0+0+0

Ginny made it through the rest of the week somewhat happy. She had only cut twice in the few days she had left to the weekend. It wasn't much but Ginny felt that it was something to be proud of. As Saturday morning rolled around the corner she became nervous about going to Hogsmeade with Luna. But Ginny had made a promise to herself that she wouldn't back out no matter what. When she saw Luna reassurance swept over her; the day was going to be fine.

"Sorry I'm a little late," Ginny said quietly.

"That's okay," Luna replied with a disarming smile, "So where do you want to go first?"

"I'm not really sure what's IN right now, I don't really follow fashion so I guess where ever you go is fine with me," she replied.

Ginny and Luna had visited a few expensive stores but saw nothing to their liking. Ginny had seen a few beautiful gowns but didn't bother to check the prices, she knew they were too far out of her price range. They finally stopped at a small store called _The Witches' Rose_. That was when Luna had found her dress. It was a powder blue gown and even thought it would have looked terrible with Ginny's red hair, it was almost too perfect on Luna. Her blue eyes matched the gown beautifully and her long, sleek blond hair gave it the perfect touch.

"It's beautiful Luna," Ginny said.

"Thanks. Now we've got to find you a dress."

They spent fifteen minutes searching the shop but found nothing to Ginny's liking. They were about to leave until Ginny noticed a dress in the back corner. She slowly walked over and picked it from the rack. She instantly fell in love with it. It wasn't a gown and it certainly wasn't colorful but she loved it. It was black and more of a dress type.

"You know Gin, this really isn't a gown," Luna said looking at the dress.

"I know, but I love it all the same," Ginny said breathlessly. She checked the price and groaned. It was one- hundred and ten galleons, way too far out of her price range. The other gowns had been far more expensive but she still didn't enough money. At that moment she hated being a Weasley because being a Weasley only gave her sixty-five galleons.

"What's wrong Ginny?" Luna asked gently.

"I can't afford it," she said sadly, "its too much money."

"Hey, now don't go getting all sad on me. I'll help you out."

Ginny's face light up instantly, "Are you sure? I mean I could always find something else if you don't want too or if its too much."

"Don't worry Gin, I got you covered," Luna said flashing her a smile.

"Oh thank you so much Luna!" Ginny squealed and gave her a hug, "I promise to pay you back as soon as I get enough money."

"No Gin, I don't want you to. You can't put a price on friendship," said Luna.

At that moment Ginny knew she was truly lucky. She had Draco and Luna looking out for her and that made her happier than she had been in quite a long time.

A/N: I know, I know. This is about the brightest chapter I've written this entire story. But don't think Ginny's getting better already. She's beginning to, but there is a lot more sad & dark things she still has to face. Well thanks for all your wonderful reviews, its really great to know people enjoy my story!


	14. Lies

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 14 Lies

"_Look here she comes now,  
Bow down and stare in wonder.  
Oh, how we love you,  
No flaws when you're pretending._

_Without the mask,  
Where will you hide?  
Can't find yourself,  
Lost in your lies."_

_-Evanescence_

Ginny gave a deep sigh as she looked in the mirror. Sure the dress she had chosen was beautiful, but at the moment she was having second thoughts on the ball. _"No. You're going to go and for once you're going to enjoy yourself because for one night you're just pretending to be somebody else," _Ginny's mind said, trying to reassure her. Ginny took another look in the mirror.

Her hair was in lose, long curls that grew a little past her shoulders, accenting her face. She hadn't bothered to put on much make up. After all she would be wearing a mask. She had put on some eyeliner and mascara to give her mask a more dramatic effect. Ginny looked down at her dress; she didn't know why she chose to wear black. Everyone else was wearing bright and vibrant colors. Black looked depressing and secretive but somehow the way it looked on Ginny made her look radiant, even more than the other bright and vibrant colors. It was a simple black dress. She didn't want anything to fancy or too frilly. She wasn't planning on getting noticed. It was a strapless black dress that fit perfectly on the top and cascaded all the way to her feet. It had a slit on the side that went a little above her knee. For her mask she decided to go simple too. The mask only covered her eyes and she held it on a wooden stick. The mask was also black but lined with silver sequence at the top and black and white feathers sticking out on one side. Most girls had decided to wear a mask that had a string to tie it to their face, but Ginny had decided to hold hers against her face to add to her dramatic effect. Although her scars weren't very noticeable against her pale skin, she didn't want to take any chances. Ginny used a simple blemish charm to hide her scars for the few hours she would be at the ball.

Ginny took a bathrobe from her trunk and wrapped it around her. She hid the mask along with her knife under her pillow and did her best to cover her black dress with the bathrobe. Her plan was to go to the common room and appear as if she wasn't attending the ball, that way the trio wouldn't look suspiciously at her. The second they left she would grab her mask and meet Draco on the sixth floor.

Ginny made her way down to the common room and plopped onto the couch. The trio was talking animatedly about the ball, as Hermione giggled at Harry's every word. It made her sick. Hermione always had this habit of giggling too much when she was around Harry, which was all the time. Ginny found it annoying and sickening, owning to the fact that it was too high-pitched and so Un-Hermione like.

She watched as they all left and quickly threw of her robe and rushed to get her mask. As she reached under her pillow and grasped the mask, her hand brushed the handle of her knife. She wished she could bring it with her but knew it would only be too noticeable under her dress. She hurriedly left the common room and headed towards the sixth floor, trying to forget her knife.

Before she knew it, Ginny was face to face with Draco.

"You look beautiful Gin," he said with a smile.

"You're not too bad either," she replied.

They walked in silence until they reached the doors to the great hall.

"You ready?" Draco asked.

"As much as I'll ever be," Ginny said with a sigh as Draco opened the door. Ginny stepped into the hall and gave a small gasp of surprise. It was beautifully decorated and almost had an early rich, eighteenth century look to it. She had been right when she guessed that she was the only one wearing black. Each girl seemed to have on a slightly different color from the next, which only added to the beauty of the room.

Draco took her arm and walked her to the drink the table.

"The worst part is over Gin. The entrance is always the worst part," he said.

"Definitely," was all she could say still staring at the beauty of the room.

"Hey Ginny, you want to dance?" Draco asked.

"Sure, I'd love to," she replied and flashed him a smile. The Weird Sisters struck up a new tune and Ginny began to dance. She held the mask close to her face and let go of everything. Ginny felt completely different, as if she was another person. She swayed with the rhythm of the music and let her emotions do their own dance. As the song ended the tune changed to a slower one and she began to slow dance with Draco.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he whispered into her ear.

"More than I probably should, I shouldn't be here," she whispered.

"Don't say that, Gin. You deserve it. You deserve this ball more than anyone else," he said bringing her closer. The song ended and a faster tune was struck.

"Do you want to sit down?" Draco asked.

"No!" she exclaimed, "I want to dance! I want to dance!"

She spun around and gave Draco a big smile.

"Okay then. I'm going to get drinks," He said and turned around to leave.

Ginny spun around in circles again. She didn't care if she didn't have anyone to dance with all that mattered was that she danced. Draco finally returned fifteen minutes later with drinks.

"Sorry I took so long, there was a long line," he said.

"That's okay, I was having fun dancing," Ginny said as she quickly took a few sips of pumpkin juice.

"Ginny, have you been dancing this entire time?" he questioned seeing her flushed face. She gave a quick nod and began to spin again.

"Come over here, I think you need a break," Draco said grabbing her wrist.

"No Draco! Let me stay here, you can sit down if you want but I want to dance!" she exclaimed and gave a giggle.

Draco lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Ginny rarely laughed these days and if she did, it didn't sound like that. Her giggle sounded strained and forced almost as if it were covering up something else. Why was she acting strange all of the sudden? Draco pondered this as he went to set the drinks down. When he turned around he noticed Ginny making her way slowly through the crowd trying to find a new place to dance.

Ginny was starting to a feel an ache creep into her calf and her feet were hurting terribly. But she forced herself to keep laughing and keep on dancing. She suddenly stopped when she heard whispers.

"Isn't that Ginny Weasley?"

"Wow, she actually looks pretty for once."

"What is she doing here?"

"Is that Ginny?" Ron asked as he saw a redheaded girl in a black dress.

"I think so," replied Harry.

Then something hit her. It was worse than being invisible and it was worse than the cutting she had to deal with, It was the worst emotional pain she had ever felt. People were noticing her because she was pretending to be something she wasn't. She wasn't Ginny Weasley anymore, but someone completely different. Ginny felt ugly and disgusting. They notice her now? They notice her now when she gives off fake smiles and laughs and dresses as beautifully as she can? But they can't notice her when the pain is truly showing and every inch is eating away at her? Ginny began to feel lightheaded. Her breath was caught in her chest and her surroundings began to speed by again. Then she saw them all. They were all laughing as she stumbled to the floor and tried to lift herself up only to fall back up again. She fled the great hall as fast as she could and ran to her common room. She needed her knife. Only her knife could take away her dirty and hopeless feeling.

Draco watched horrified as Ginny stumbled through the crowd and out of the great hall. He jumped up and forced his way out of the crowd, but it took him a good five minutes to get out of the great hall. If he thought she was going to the astronomy tower with her knife she would have a five-minute start. Draco knew Ginny had to go back to Gryffindor to retrieve her knife and that would give him a little more time to catch up with her. He knew she wasn't stupid enough to cut in her room on this night, especially since all of the younger grades would be dining in their houses.

Ginny reached the common room and ran upstairs. She didn't bother to take a break even though she couldn't breath and her legs felt as if they were on fire. She hastily grabbed her knife from beneath her pillow and ran out of the common room. No one noticed. She urged herself to the astronomy tower; just a few more steps and the pain on her heart would be relieved. On the last step she slipped and tore the bottom half of the dress, scraping her knee. But she payed no notice and pushed herself up once again. Ginny pushed the tiny button on the handle and watched as the knife slid out. She looked at it as her knife gleamed in the moonlight and then watched as it slid across her arm leaving a trail of blood.

Ginny cut at her arms again going over cuts that had been made recently and old scars. She tore at the bottom of her dress so she could find more skin to heal the pain. As she cut she couldn't help but feel dirty and pathetic. She felt the lies surround her. Each and every lie. This whole ball had been a lie. It wasn't her and when she figured it out she had panicked. She should have never gone, but at the time she hadn't seen it for the lie it truly was. Everyone saw her lie and had actually noticed her. That was the worst of it all; the part that made her feel worse than anything else. Once again she saw them laughing at her as her world spun by. She sliced open another scar, attempting to make the laughing stop. They were all laughing at her. Laughing at her foolishness and laughing as she tried to cut them out. But the laughter continued and all she could do was cut deeper. She didn't come back to reality until she heard someone speak.

"Ginny, don't! Stop!" Draco screamed. She appeared to be in some sort of trance. Her cuts were becoming deeper and longer.

Ginny's head snapped up and saw Draco running to her side. Instantly her eyes began to well up with tears and she quickly grabbed Draco and let her tears fall.

The instant Ginny had looked at him, he saw the tears in her eyes. He ran over and pulled her into a strong hold. At the moment he didn't care if she stained his shirt with her blood. He just wanted her to stop the cutting.

"Ginny, babe, what happened?" He asked sadly.

"It was the lie. The whole thing was a lie," she said before she burst into another fit of sobs and her body shook.

A/N: intense there at the end. The last chapter was light and now this one was dark so I'm not sure yet what I'm gunna do with the next one. Bu thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, you guys make my day!


	15. Lost

Bleeding Soul and Silent Scream 

Chapter 15 Lost

"_I hold my breath as this life starts to take its toll  
I hide behind a smile as this perfect plan unfolds  
But oh, God, I feel I've been lied to  
Lost all faith in the things I have achieved  
And I_

I've woken now to find myself  
In the shadows of all I have created  
I'm longing to be lost in you  
Away from this place I have made

Lost in a dying world I reach for something more  
I have grown so weary of this lie I live"

-Evanescence

Ginny awoke with a start to the sound of a loud knock on her door. She wearily stood up and looked down at her clothing. The night before she had been to exhausted from the crying and cutting to change out of her dress. When she had finally returned to her room she had walked straight to her bed and crawled under her covers.

She walked over to her mirror and looked at herself. Her hair was very frizzy and all of her makeup was smeared from the crying. She noticed the tear in her dress and saw the cut on her knee. She instantly felt guilty. Luna had done her a wonderful favor by helping her buy the dress, and what had Ginny done? She'd gone and ripped it the first night she wore it. Another loud knock sounded at the door.

"Ginny," said the voice and Ginny recognized it as Hermione's, "I know you don't want to talk to me, but you've got a letter for you from your mum and I'd rather not slip it under the door."

"Alright. I'll be there in a minute," Ginny muttered. She walked over to the door and opened it, snatching the letter from Hermione.

"Ginny I saw you at the ball with Draco and-," but Hermione's voice was cut off when Ginny slammed the door in her face. She wasn't in the mood to hear one of Hermione's idiotic lectures. She walked over to her bed and sat down, tearing open the envelope.

My Dearest Ginny,

I know it is a little soon to write you a letter, being that it's just the start of November. I decided to write and tell you that you need to come home for Christmas. Your brother, Harry, and Hermione are coming back and I would like for you to return with them too. You already know how much it would upset Stephan if you didn't return and I miss seeing my little Gin. I wrote this letter in advance so it would have time to sink in. It would upset Stephan very much if you didn't come home for the holidays. And we both know it isn't good to upset your stepfather. I know you dread coming home because of what happens here, but things are changing. Stephan is a good man and he deeply cares for you. You're very special to the both us and it would mean a lot if you returned for the holidays, especially to me. I also heard you attended the Masquerade Ball. Good for you Ginny. It shows that nothing can get you down and nothing can stop you from enjoying yourself. Ron said you seemed to be having a lovely time, so I hope you enjoyed yourself. I love you dearly and miss you very much. Please take into consideration my request and come home for the holidays.

Love,

Mum

Ginny stared at the letter in shock. How could her mother even think of asking her to come home? Didn't she know that was the last place she wanted to be? She had planned to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays even though it meant spending a lot of time alone. She'd rather be at Hogwarts by herself than deal with the beatings and be surrounded by others. But she knew she would have to return. If she didn't go with the trio, Stephan would surely come and come up with some lame excuse to drag her home. Ginny gave a deep sigh. When had everything become so difficult?

She remembered the days before Hogwarts where she would play outside with her brothers. They would let her play Quidditch with them and would always let her win.

She remembered planning pranks with Fred and George to get back at another brother for something they had done. She remembered running up to her father everyday when he returned from work and giving him the biggest hug. Her father had always laughed as he swooped her up in his arms, giving her a big kiss on her cheek. She remembered listening to the tales her older brothers told of their adventures at Hogwarts. She remembered that she couldn't wait to join them in school.

When had everything changed? When had she become lost to everyone? That's when her horrible memories from the chamber flashed before her eyes. No one knew what had really happened down in the chamber, except that The Great Harry Potter had killed the Basilisk and saved pathetic Virginia Weasley's life. No one had bothered to ask what had happened before Harry had showed up, and that remained one of the darkest secrets she held.

Flashback

Ginny was huddled up against a statue shaped as a snake. She had just been taken to this chamber by none other than Tom. He had betrayed her; her first friend and the one she loved betrayed her. All she could do was cry. She was to scared to run away. She knew Tom would just stop her and hit her again. Would anyone see that she wasn't there? Would anyone save her? With each passing minute Ginny's fear increased.

"Stand up Girl," Said Tom with a cold voice. He began to beat her as her cries of pain echoed across the chamber. She sunk to the floor barely concious. She prayed for death to take her right then and end all her pain. The pain was unbearable and her fear only made everything worse.

"What are you crying for, filth? This is nothing compared to what will happen to you soon enough. But I think I'll wait just a little longer. Your precious savior Potter will be here soon enough and after I kill him you'll be my little prize. Maybe if you're any better than the other little girls I'll keep you alive a little longer. God only knows you need to be taught a lesson you little whore," Tom said with a cruel laugh.

Ginny let out another sob. How could something like this happen to her? But she could no longer think as a fist came flying at her face and black filled her eyes.

End flashback

That was when she had become lost. At the age of just eleven she had turned into the invisible and worthless girl she still was at the age of sixteen. Ginny choked back a few tears. Her thoughts ran for her knife, but she held off. She had cut too much last night and she had become mentally and physically weak from it. Instead she got and put on a black pair of pajama bottoms and then pulled on a gray sweater. She tied to tame her frizzy hair with a comb and then tied it back into a ponytail. She put on some slippers, grabbed her wand and the letter. She didn't care if Hermione would try to stop her, she was going to see Draco and no one would keep her from it.

As Ginny entered the dungeons she realized she didn't know the password to Draco's room. She knew where it was but knew she would have difficulty getting in. She walked over to the portrait that led to his room and stood there for a few moments. "Draco probably isn't her anyway," she thought. When she turned around to leave the portrait opened and Draco stepped out.

"Ginny what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to talk to you and show you something," she said quietly.

"You're lucky no Slytherins saw you. They would have your head for even being in the dungeons," Draco said as he quickly urged her inside.

She took as seat on his bed and waited for him to join her.

"What is it you wanted to show me?" he asked as he sat down. Ginny took the letter from her pocket and handed it to him without saying anything. He took the letter with a serious expression.

"And she still wants you to come home after everything he's done?" he said.

"Yes," Ginny replied sadly, "and if I don't go home he'll just come here and make up some excuse to take me away. I don't have a choice."

"And what do you think is going to happen when you get home? Do you think the beatings will just stop? By the time you get home he'll have had no one to beat for three months. All his anger would have been kept inside and he going to unleash it on you the second you step foot in that house." Draco said with worried eyes.

"I know, Draco. But what other choice do I have? I've got no where else to go, she said, "but at least I can still write you letters while I'm gone, right?"

"Well actually my father is making me go home for the holidays as well. He keeps a close watch on me and it would be practically impossible to talk to you without getting caught. I'm sorry, Gin, I really am." He said as regret washed over his face.

"Oh," was all Ginny could say as an even deeper sadness washed over her. Without Draco to help her she would turn back to her knife for comfort. She didn't want to go back to her knife. She didn't want to wash away the little progress she had made.

"Lets try not to think about it right now Gin. It's still a month away. Lets just enjoy the little time we have," Draco said as he pulled into a close hug.

Ginny had stayed in his arms for over an hour. They had mostly sat in a comfortable silence but managed to talk about a few things.

"I think I should go now. Somebody will have noticed why you aren't out of your room yet," Ginny said. But the instant she left Draco's arms she felt all the cold and sorrow rush back into her heart. Draco got up and walked her to the portrait. As they both walked outside he gave her one last hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ginny," he whispered and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Ginny turned around with a small blush rising in her cheeks. She touched the spot he had kissed almost if to savor the feeling. She had been lost for a long time, but when she was with Draco she wasn't lost at all.

A/N: some more painful memories for Ginny in the beginning. And yes finally the Draco/Ginny romance is starting to form. Its not a lot but still something. I know I'm updating again rather quickly, but I prefer writing for you all instead of doing my homework. I hope you all enjoyed it!


	16. A Gift From Draco

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams Chapter 16 A Gift from Draco 

"_I've been looking in the mirror for so long.  
That I've come to believe my souls on the other side.  
Oh the little pieces falling, shatter.  
Shards of me,  
To sharp to put back together.  
To small to matter,  
But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces."_

_-Evanescence_

November had passed to quickly for Ginny's liking. Most of her days were woven around a silent fear that seemed to grow inside with each passing day. The only time she felt secure and relaxed was when she was in Draco's presence. Almost every one of her nights was spent in the Astronomy Tower with Draco. Each night she had let herself go; each night she fell into his arms with a comfort in her mind.

"Ginny, are you alright? You seem really tense," Draco said.

"Hmm, what?" Ginny asked snapping out of her train of thought.

"Well you just seem really tense tonight. All the other times you were relaxed and calm, is everything okay?" he said again.

"I don't know. I guess I'm really nervous about going home tomorrow. I mean what if nothing has changed?" she began," I want to believe that my stepfather is changing, but something tells me what happened over the summer is nothing compared to what else might happen."

"Gin, look at me," Draco said as he turned around and stared into her eyes," I can't promise nothing will happen, but I can promise whatever does happen I will always be there for you."

Draco began to fumble in his pocket for something. Ginny looked at him with curious eyes, which quickly turned to surprise when he pulled a small dark green, velvet box out of his pocket.

"Happy Christmas, Gin," He whispered, giving her a kiss on her forehead. Ginny gently opened the lid and gave a gasp of astonishment when she saw what was inside. It was a small silver fairy with one blood red ruby on its wing. The fairy was attached to a chain made of real silver. Ginny felt happiness and gratitude wash over her.

"I thought since I couldn't be with you all the time to help you, this necklace would remind you that even though I'm not there physically I'm always watching over you. But if you don't like it I could-" Draco began to say quickly but was cut off when Ginny gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Draco, I love it. More than any other present I've ever received. I just feel horrible for not being able to get you anything that would even come close to this," she whispered.

"Gin, I don't want you to get me anything for Christmas," he said, but added so she couldn't hear," All I want is _you_."

"What'd you say?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing. I'm glad you like it."

Ginny flashed him a smile a gently laid back in his arms. She wished she could stay warm and content in his arms forever.

It was seven when Ginny awoke. She sat up gently with a sigh, wishing the night before had never ended. The fear she had pushed into the back of her mind was slowly creeping forward. She gave a small shudder and urged herself out of her bed and into the bathroom. Ginny locked the door behind her and began to run the water. She began to undress and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked at each cut and the pale scars each one had made. In the light she could see the words she had cut. _"Anyone else who saw these would think I was sick,"_ she thought to herself. Everybody would think she wanted to kill herself or was just begging for attention. But not Draco. He knew what drove her to each cut and he knew her secrets. Ginny stepped into the shower and welcomed the hot water she felt tingling her skin.

She stepped out of the shower and put on some old jeans and a black long sleeve. She used a quick drying and straightening spell on her hair and it hung limp around her face. Ginny walked over to her bed and laid back down. Everyone else had gone to breakfast and the room had an eerie silence.

She pulled the covers closer to her body and tried to remember all the good times she had with Draco. She knew she would surely need them if she wanted to survive when she returned home. Ginny only wished she could write to Draco, but he was staying at the manor and his father kept a close watch on him. She drifted off into a light sleep with the thought of being in Draco's arms.

"Ron, Harry, do you think both of you could walk with a little more haste?" Hermione snapped with annoyance in her voice.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of Harry's bed. What's up your butt 'Mione?" Ron asked as both boys burst out with laughter.

"Oh yes, Ron, you're a stand up comedian," she replied rolling her eyes, "Did you forget that we have to go get Gin? It only said on the letter your Mum sent, _don't forget about Ginny._"

"I guess Ginny forgot or something. She always seems to make it a habit of avoiding us," Harry said.

"With you two I wonder why," Hermione said with obvious sarcasm in her voice.

"Gods Hermione, why are you obsessing over Gin? Yea, I know she's just a little girl and she needs help with practically _everything, _but lately all you've been talking about is her," Ron began.

"Something's wrong with her, Ronald, and it has been annoying me since that fight we had. What she said just made me wonder if there is something bothering her," Hermione said with a serious expression.

"Gin does not have a problem. Like I told Harry, she's just playing one of her little girl tricks to get everyone's attention. Just keep on ignoring her and she'll stop," Ron said as Harry shook his head.

"I think the problem is we ignore her too much," she said quietly to herself.

"What was the 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"Never mind. Let's just get Ginny before it's too late and the train leaves," Hermione said.

The trio began to hurry up the stairs hoping Ginny would be in her room. As they entered the common room Hermione walked over to the girl's dorms and knocked on the door.

"Gin are you in there?" She called. When she heard no reply Hermione stepped into the room and saw Ginny asleep on the bed.

She walked over to Ginny's sleeping form and watched the girl. She was about to wake the girl up when she noticed her sleeve had been rolled up in her sleep. In the light she could see two very pale scars on Ginny's arm. Hermione grabbed Ginny's wrist to examine it closer, but in doing so Ginny jolted awake and yanked her arm back.

"What are you doing Hermione?" She asked quickly.

"I was about to wake you when I noticed those two scars on your arms. Gin what are they from?" She asked suspiciously.

"I got them in Care of Magical Creatures," Ginny lied quickly, "We were looking after pixies and I wasn't paying attention to mine. It scratched me pretty deep to get me to notice it."

But when Hermione's suspicious expression didn't leave she added, "I'm fine Hermione, really. So what is it you want?"

"Oh, the train should be here any minute and you need to get all of your things together," Hermione said.

"I'll just finish gatherings my things and I'll meet you in the common room in a few moments," Ginny replied as she pulled back the covers and stood up.

Hermione left in silence still contemplating what had happened. Ginny's scars were quite thin but visibly deep. Although pixies were small creatures they're nails couldn't possibly be as thin as the scars.

Ginny gave a deep sigh. She had almost been caught, almost. Lucky for her Hermione had seen her older scars; the ones when she had just begun cutting. They almost as thin as a paper cut so she could only hope Hermione believed her story.

The train ride for Ginny so far had been quite boring. She shared a compartment with the trio as they talked excitedly about the upcoming holidays. For the past hour she sat in silence thinking of Draco. But then it suddenly occurred to her that Draco was on the train as well. He only said he would be going home for the holidays. Ginny quickly left the compartment and headed toward the area Slytherins usually sat.

Ginny noticed Draco step out of his compartment and quickly walked toward him. He saw her and flashed her a grin.

When she approached he gave her a quick hug and asked, "Gin, what are you doing here?"

"I decided to take a walk and see you one last time before I had to go home," she said.

"Is something else wrong? I mean besides your stepfather you seem a little worried," Draco asked.

"Hermione, she, umm, she saw two of my scars," Ginny said quietly.

"What? How?" Draco asked.

"I was asleep before the train left and Hermione went into the dorm to wake me up. I guess my sleeve most have been pushed up when I slept and she saw my scars. I woke up when I felt her Grab my arm," Ginny started.

"What did you tell her?" Draco said.

"She wanted to know how I got them. So I lied and told her a pixie scratched me in Care of Magical Creatures. But I could tell she didn't completely believe me."

"Well I don't know what to say, Gin. Just be really careful when she's around. IT would only make the problem worse if her and the trio knew," he said.

"I know. I guess I better get back to my compartment, the train should be arriving soon," Ginny said and gave him a hug. Draco held her close and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Remember the necklace Gin," he said softly. Ginny shook her head and turned to leave. She kept looking back until she left the compartments and Draco was out of sight.

"Now entering Platform 9 and ¾. Please wait until the train has come to a complete stop before exiting." Ginny stood up and grabbed her luggage as she felt the train come to a slow stop.

Ginny stepped onto the platform and gave a deep breath. She was walking right back into the lion's den and there wasn't a thing she could do to prevent it.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, I've had so much going on with school that I've had barely anytime to write. I promise next week I will be able to update a couple more times.


	17. Thoughtless

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams Chapter 17 Thoughtless 

"All, all my hate cannot be bound  
I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming  
So you can try to tear me down  
Beat me to the ground  
I will see you screaming

Why are you trying to make fun of me?  
You think it's funny?  
What the fuck you think it's doing to me?  
You take your turn lashing out at me  
I want you crying with your dirty ass in front of me"

_-Evanescence_

It was the third night since Ginny had been home for the holidays. As each night before she was nervous, even though in the past two nights she had not received a beating. She didn't understand what he was trying to do. She knew he hadn't changed even when she saw how delighted her mother had been when she hadn't been beaten. Something about him had changed, but it certainly wasn't in a good way.

Over the past two days he had seemed shifty and his eyes were even more watchful than before. There was an eerie distance between Ginny and him, almost as if he was holding himself back from something he desired. Why didn't he just beat her already? He hadn't showed mercy in the past, so what was there to hide?

Ginny sat on her bed in deep though as she unknowingly played with the necklace Draco had given her. She adored it more than any other present she had received in the past.

It was nice having a room all to herself again. Her mother had made sure she would have the room to herself so that she could deal with the beatings without anyone else knowing. Hermione, Harry, and Ron were all sleeping in Ron's room and Ginny liked it better that way. In the past when Hermione had slept in Ginny's room she had bored her with all her talking of school work and other Hogwarts events that Ginny wasn't the least bit interested in. It was already ten-thirty and Ginny figured he wouldn't be coming to her room tonight. She crawled under her covers and placed her knife beneath her pillow.

As she drifted into a light sleep she thought of Draco and what he was doing for his holiday.

Ginny woke up instantly, as her door was slammed open. She quickly checked the time and it was just twelve-thirty. She quickly got out of be and turned on the light to see what had made the noise. The instant she turned her light on she regretted it. Stephan was standing in the doorway. He was drunk, she could tell by his smile and could smell the reeking alcohol coming off his breath. Fear overwhelmed her as he took a step forward with a drunken smile and slammed the door shut. She knew this would come eventually, she only hoped it would later rather than sooner. Even though she knew what was coming, Ginny still backed into the corner and huddled against the wall.

"You little bitch! You thought I was gonna let you off that easy!" he yelled with a slur. Ginny could tell he was heavily drunk and maybe she could escape with only a light beating. But as soon as his fist made contact with her stomach she knew the alcohol only seemed to make him even more powerful. Ginny wheezed in pain as she tried to stand up.

"Come here you!" he shouted and grabbed her by the hair launching her against the wall. Ginny's back made contact with her dresser and she fell to the ground. He swiftly walked over to her and began to ruthlessly kick her stomach and legs. Ginny cried out in the extreme pain she was experiencing.

"Shut the fuck up you little whore! Don't you think you would be used to it by now!" he screamed. The pain was so intense that tears were coming out of her eyes. But he only laughed and threw her against her bed.

Ginny thought he was finally finished. She thought he would then cuddle her in his arms and then tell her she was beautiful. But he came charging at her with fury in his eyes.

The fear and pain in her eyes grew to the worst it had ever been. He was doing something he had never done before and all Ginny could do was panic. He was groping her breasts with his hands and then he began to touch her.

Only when she had gathered enough courage to push him up and run into the corner had he stopped. He gave a cruel smirk and left Ginny to sit in her own filth. She had never been violated in such a way and it scared her to death. All she could think was if he was going to come back again. She ran over to her bed and grabbed her knife, clutching it to her chest. She waited fifteen minutes before quietly walking to the bathroom, knife still in her hand.

Ginny stepped in the shower, tears streaming down her eyes. She had been too scared to do anything. When she closed her eyes she saw his hands touching her everywhere, tearing at her clothes. She opened her eyes instantly.

Ginny sat on the shower floor letting the water run over her. She felt just like the filthy little whore he always said she was. She had to get clean no matter what it took. Ginny frantically grabbed a sponge and began to scrub her body. She scrubbed her body twice but still the filth would not come off. She scrubbed again until her skin became red and severely irritated. She looked at her knife and pressed the button on the handle. The knife slid out and she barely looked at it before her skin was sliced open. She was making deep, thick cuts and watching the blood run down the drain. But she still felt dirty and filthy. So she cut again and again until she realized it wouldn't work.

Ginny was scared, the filth would not wash away and she was lost. She looked down at her knife again to see if it would save her but caught a glimpse of her necklace. She must have forgotten to take it off when she had changed. That's when it hit her, she needed Draco. She needed Draco to help wash away the filth that covered every inch of her body. She quickly stepped out of the shower and threw on her clothes not caring that her body and hair was still drenched with water. She ran to her room and grabbed her wand from her dresser and then ran downstairs.

Ginny walked over to the fireplace and grabbed the pot of floo powder. There was just enough to get her to Draco's but not enough for anyone else to follow. She walked into the fireplace and prayed it would work. She threw the powder down and green flames surrounded her as she screamed, "Malfoy Manor!"

Ginny was hurtling through ash and felt the normal queasy feeling that she normally got when traveling by floo powder. In an instant she was in another fireplace. As she tried to step out she lost her balance and went crashing to the floor.

Draco sat in silence as he ate his meal. It was normally this way whenever his family ate together. No one ever talked except for Lucius, and when he talked it was only about Voldemort. Each meal he ate at home he practically died of boredom, but for the past few nights it had been bearable. He spent most of his meals thinking about Ginny and if she was okay.

Draco then heard a loud crash coming from the hall. He looked over to his father whose head had popped up immediately.

"What was that noise?" Lucius asked. He said as he got up and started towards the door.

"I'll look father," Draco said respectively.

He left when he heard Lucius mutter, "Go on then."

"_Shit."_ Ginny thought. She had forgotten about the time difference in France. It was probably just eight or so and they were eating dinner. A door creaked open and Ginny panicked already knowing what would happen. But she let out a deep breath when she saw it was Draco at the door. He had a look of shock and confusion on his face. She quickly lifted herself off the floor and ran to him giving him a hug. He hugged her back but pulled away quickly.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" he said with a frantic whisper.

"I had to get away. He-," but she was cut off when Draco spoke.

"Shh, come with me," he grabbed her hand and led her behind the stair case, "stay right here and don't move. I've got to try and excuse myself from dinner. If I'm not back in the next few minutes stay put and hide yourself as best as you can until I come get you."

Ginny nodded and Draco turned around and walked back towards the dining room.

"Well boy, what was it?" Lucius asked impatiently as his son entered the room.

"A new house elf dropped a platter of food," Draco lied quickly.

Lucius sneered, "Those rodents are so worthless. I don't even know why I bother with them."

"Father? May I be excused from dinner? I'm not particularly hungry," he said.

"I suppose. You're lucky I'm in a decent mood tonight. But don't you take that tone with the Dark Lord. He wouldn't be pleased with your actions."

Draco bowed his head respectively and swiftly left the room. Once the door was closed her ran over to Ginny and rushed her up the stairs. Ginny slowly walked towards the bed as she admired the elegant room. When she finally sat down and looked Draco in the eyes all she could do was break down into sobs.

Draco looked into her eyes. He saw more pain and fear then he had seen before. He quickly ran up to her and pulled Ginny into a close hug. Only until she had calmed down would he ask her what happened. But if she didn't talk he wouldn't force her. It had obviously been traumatic; this was the worst he had ever seen her.

It took a good fifteen for Ginny to regain some control over her emotions. She slowly pulled back but Draco could still see the tears streaming down her face. Before he could say anything Ginny rolled up both of her sleeves and bore her arms out to him. There were dozens of cuts on both arms. Deep and thick and most of them still let out some blood. Only one or two had seemed to begin to scab over. He suspected Ginny must have just done it before she flooed to his house.

"I tried to use the necklace, Draco, but it wasn't strong enough. I tried to wash it away but the dirt wouldn't come off. So then I tried to cut it away, but the hurt didn't go away. I don't know what to do! I'm so confused!" Ginny sobbed.

"It's alright Gin, I'm here now," Draco said softly.

"No it's not alright!" she shrieked, "It's never going to be alright!"

"Gin, please tell me what happened. If you're not comfortable yet I can wait, but please try," he said. When Ginny saw the sorrow in his eyes she did her best to collect herself.

She took two deep breaths and waited a few moments to calm her nerves. She slowly began to tell her tale from when she arrived at the burrow until up to the point she arrived at the manner. When she finally finished, another wave of tears flooded her eyes and Ginny broke back down into hysterical sobs.

Draco had never felt more rage against someone in his entire life. Someone he cared for deeply was broken down in sobs in his arms and the man who was responsible for her pain was walking free. Draco tried his best to control his anger; he didn't want Ginny anymore upset than she already was.

Ginny had cried for what felt like hours. She had become exhausted. If it weren't for her exhaustion the tears would still have been flowing. She slowly pulled away from Draco.

"Draco, do you think you could spare a pillow and blanket for tonight?" she asked quietly.

"No Gin, I want you to sleep in the bed. You need a good sleep. I'll sleep on the couch," He said gesturing to the sitting area in the entrance toward his bedroom.

"That's all right Draco, I've already invaded your space I'd be grateful just to sleep on the couch," she said softly.

"No," he replied firmly, "You are sleeping in the bed. Whether or not I must force you."

Ginny climbed under the covers and huddled against the sheets. Draco placed a kiss on her cheek.

"If you need me, I'll be close. Please try and get some sleep Gin, I know its going to be hard," Draco said and walked to the couch.

Ginny feared sleep. She knew it would only bring back memories of the night's events. But she soon felt her eyes grow heavy and succumbed to the darkness.

Draco awoke to whimpering. He shot up and was next to Ginny in an instant. He checked his alarm and saw that it was only two in the morning. Ginny awoke with a scream. Draco comforted her instantly as fresh tears rolled down her already stained cheeks.

"Gods, Draco. What am I going to do?" she whispered, "I have to go home or they'll get suspicious. You're all that I have left, they can't keep me from you."

"What time is it at your house, Gin?" he asked.

Ginny looked at the alarm. "It's probably about six. My brothers will be up around eight. What am I going to do?" she asked as more tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Come with me. We have to get you home. I don't want to risk all I have with you if my father found out."

Ginny silently followed him down the stairs to the hall in which she had first arrived. She felt the fear rise up in her again.

"I don't want you to go back there, Gin, but you must. Whatever happens, I'm here for you. I know that's all I can offer, and it's not much, but I can't lose you. And when you get your revenge, I'll be right by your side," Draco said sadly.

"Draco, that's all I need to know," She whispered.

Draco placed a gentle kiss on her cheek just before she stepped into the fireplace.

"I love you, Gin," he said softly.

"I love you too," she replied before throwing down the powder and yelling _"The Burrow!"_. Within an instant the person he cared for to the bottom of his soul was gone and he could only hope that she would return to him when the holidays were over.

As Ginny stepped out of the fireplace she felt an intense fear sweep over her. She walked over to the living room but jumped back when she saw Stephan running down the stairs. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Gods, dearest, I thought you were gone for good," he said. Ginny felt her fear turn quickly to anger and range. This was the man who made her feel filthy and worthless. And now he was pulling her into a hug as if nothing happened.

"Get the fuck away from me!" she screamed. Stephan stepped back in surprise. Ginny never fought back.

"Virginia, what has gotten into you? Tell me this instant!" he yelled trying to intimidate her. But he only saw her rage grow more as her eyes flashed dangerously.

"I am not afraid of you anymore! Stay the fuck away from me you fucking bastard!" she shrieked.

Stephan could tell that growing angry with her would only increase her rage.

"Ginny, beautiful, please tell me what's wrong," he said with a sickeningly sweet smile.

His smile was wiped clean off his face when he saw Ginny grab a pair of scissors that had been lying on the table.

"Virginia, what do you think you're doing with those?"

Ginny smirked with a nasty smile. She was the intimidating one now. She grabbed a lock of her hair and cut it. She then began to ruthlessly cut away at her hair. She finally stopped when her once beautiful hair was uneven and shredded on the floor.

"Am I still fucking beautiful!" she screamed pointing the scissors at him.

"No, actually you're quite ugly," he replied with a sneer.

"Good. Then maybe you'll keep your fucking hands off me!" she snarled. She threw the scissors on the floor, and before Stephan could react, she pulled back her hand and slapped him with all her strength.

Ginny then stormed up to her bedroom and slammed the door. She ran to her bed as tears of anger streamed down her face. She knew she was still in fear of the man who ruined her life, but her anger had overpowered her fear. If he tried to do anything again she would keep fighting back. She wasn't going to hide anymore. She wasn't going to let him beat her down.

A/N: Very emotional chapter. I know some of you might not have liked the whole thing that happened with Ginny and Stephan in the beginning. But it was essential to the story. It was essential that Ginny be pushed over the edge and past her limits so she could finally start healing. But there is still a lot to come. I thought along time before deciding what to write in this chapter. I even considered going a different route but in the end I think this was the best way to go. I hope you agreed.


	18. Discoveries

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams Chapter 18 Discoveries 

"Fake smiles and silent screams  
I only live inside my dreams  
Put on a face to hide my pain  
watch my blood run down the drain  
tell myself everything will be alright  
and wipe away the tears at night  
unnoticed in the back of the crowd  
I'll hide in my invisible shroud  
Put on a show and smile wide  
so much to cover up, so much to hide  
if it makes you happy, I'm fine, I'm okay  
I'll just hide all of my pain away."

Ginny awoke with a small smile. It was the day before she would return to Hogwarts and to Draco. She pushed back her covers and walked to her closet. She grabbed a pair of jeans, a white tee shirt and a black zip up sweater.

As she began to change she thought about the past days. Stephan had avoided her at all costs. He almost seemed in fear, but Ginny knew better. He was just holding off, waiting for her guard to go down and then he would go after her. But no matter what she would be ready to face him. Her mother had appeared extremely happy over the Holidays. She had truly begun to believe that everything Stephan did to Ginny was over. Although when she saw Ginny's hair she had panicked. Ginny made a quick lie and told her mother that she wanted to change her hair but it didn't go as planned. Molly reassured her that Ginny's hair would be back to normal in no time. She gave her a hair re-growth potion and in a matter of two days her hair was back to its normal length.

Ginny walked over to her bed and grabbed her knife from under the pillow. She put it in the pocket of her sweater but gave a slight frown. The pocket wasn't deep enough. It would keep the knife from being seen, but if she happened to move to quickly it would surely come out. She gave a shrug and did her best to push the knife farther into her pocket; after all, this was one of the last clean sweaters she had left in her closet.

Ginny then swept her hair into a quick ponytail and began to head to breakfast. She reached the staircase and began to hurry down the steps, if she was lucky she might get a good meal before her brothers finished it all.

As her pace quickened Ginny didn't notice as she bumped into Hermione. But she did stop dead in her tracks when she felt the weight from her pocket quickly leave. All she could do was pray that the knife didn't land on the button and that Hermione wouldn't hear as it hit the stair.

Although Ginny begged she be spared of this one incident her luck ran short. Hermione stopped at the top of the stair as she heard the deep thud and a quick whoosh as the blade escaped its handle. Hermione slowly turned around and began to walk back down the stair.

Ginny didn't turn, but kept her eyes shut tight hoping that Hermione would brush it off. She began to panic when she heard the footsteps grow nearer with each second.

Hermione gently picked up the knife and examined it.

"Gin, is this yours?" she asked with an ounce of surprise in her voice. Ginny didn't answer. Maybe if she just ignored Hermione she would drop the subject and leave.

"Gin, I asked if this was yours or not," Hermione repeated a little louder. She placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder and felt her give a slight jump. Ginny slowly turned around, but kept her eyes on the floor.

"Yes," she whispered and in an instant she grabbed the knife from Hermione and ran up the stairs. She hurriedly closed the door to her room and threw the knife under her pillow.

"Maybe she'll leave me alone," Ginny thought silently to herself. But she felt her heart speed up as Hermione gave a swift knock and entered before Ginny could speak a word.

She strode up to Ginny and looked her straight in the eyes. Ginny felt many emotions sweep over her. But out of all her feelings the worst she felt was shame. The way Hermione had looked at her made her feel ashamed for everything she had done. What did she do to deserve this?

"Ginny, show me your arms," Hermione demanded. But all she could do was nod her head "no" and back up away from her.

"I'm not playing your stupid game, Virginia. Show me your arms now," Hermione demanded with obvious anger in her voice.

"No," Ginny replied with a harsh tone. She had worked too hard to keep everything secret and she wasn't going to give in now. She wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Stop acting like a child, Virginia," she said coldly, "I don't have time for your little games. Just show me your damn arms!"

"I – am – not – a – child," Ginny said through clenched teeth.

"Then why are you acting like a child?" Hermione snapped, "Be an adult and grow up. Its time to stop living in your fantasies and starting living in reality."

"What does growing up have to do with seeing my arms?" Ginny said with anger apparent in her voice.

"Because only a child as stupid as you would do what I think you're doing with that knife," Hermione said and made a quick grab for her arm. Ginny tried to push her back but the grip on her arm was tight. Hermione was tearing at her sleeves and before she could think of anything else her hand was flying through the air.

With a loud smack Hermione gave out a small cry and released Ginny's arm.

"I – am – not – a – fucking – child," Ginny repeated loudly and clearly just to make sure Hermione heard.

"Ginny why can't you just tell me what's wrong? I want to help. I remember you saying that you were already hurting. Please, Gin, all I want to do is help," Hermione whimpered. Ginny sneered as she saw small tears forming in Hermione's eyes. Did she think her dumb? Did Hermione actually think she was going to fall for that act?

"I don't need your help," Ginny snapped and gave another sneer.

"But Gin, I just don't get it. Why? Why are you trying to kill yourself?" Hermione asked.

Ginny's mouth dropped instantly. How could Hermione even accuse her of trying to kill herself? She didn't know anything, so how could she possibly help in the first place?

"Fuck your help," Ginny whispered as tears formed in her eyes. She grabbed the knife from under her pillow and ran into the bathroom.

At the moment she could care less if Hermione told her entire family. She just needed to be alone with her knife. Ginny rolled up her sleeves and looked at her pale skin. She felt disgusted, ashamed, and filthy. She hated Hermione for finding out her secret. She hated her for ruining what was once just hers and would never be again.

"One last time, just one last time" was all Ginny could keep thinking as she slid the blade across her skin. Her knife would save her one last time, one last time before her precious world was stolen from her.

A/N: I know, very short chapter. But I didn't want to put too much in this one. So now that Hermione knows I wonder what will happen next?


	19. A Malfoy's Heart

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams 

Chapter 19 A Malfoy's Heart

"Don't try to fix me  
I'm not broken  
Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide...  
Don't cry...  
Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping  
Hello, I'm still here, all that's left  
Of yesterday..."

_-Evanescence_

Hermione watched with tears in her eyes as Ginny grabbed the knife from beneath her pillow and ran to the bathroom. How could Ginny do that to herself? Didn't she know that she was hurting the rest of her family too?

She quietly left the room and walked toward Ron's, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why couldn't Ginny see that everyone cared? Why couldn't she see that Hermione wanted to help her?

She lay on Ron's bed and contemplated all of her thoughts. In mere seconds Hermione's ideas and opinions had changed when she laid eyes on that knife. How could such a simple object cause so much pain?

After Hermione had not returned for breakfast Harry made his way up the stairs in search for her. He saw her in Ron's bedroom and walked in. Harry gave an expression of worry when he saw Hermione red, puffy eyes and tear-stricken face.

"Hermione, what wrong, love?" he asked gently.

"Too many things," Hermione replied softly.

"Want to tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

Hermione took a deep breath and began to tell her story. Harry listened in shock and surprise but didn't speak until after Hermione had finished telling him her idea to help Ginny.

"I want to help Ginny, I really do. But I just don't know if I can do that," Harry sighed.

"You have to Harry! It's something she's always wanted and I know it well help," she said.

"But doesn't it go against everything we've had?" he asked defiantly.

"I'm not asking you to do anything serious, just simple stuff. So she can feel welcomed again. Once she's all better you can just tell her the truth and she'll get over it," Hermione said with a smile.

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," he said.

"Of course it will be! Do it for me. Please?" Hermione asked with her best puppy dog eyes.

"Alright. Anything for my 'Mione," Harry replied.

"Thank you, babe," Hermione said and gave him a gentle kiss.

Ginny had been a bundle of nerves since the day before. She had expected her family to interrogate her the second she left the bathroom, but it appeared Hermione hadn't told anyone, or at least she thought. The second the train began to move Ginny let out a big sigh of relief. If her family did eventually find out, at least she would be away from them and at Hogwarts.

She stared out the window and watched the outside world speed by. Hermione had offered Ginny to sit with them but she had quickly declined. She didn't fee like listening to Hermione talk about trying to help her. Ginny had chosen a compartment in the far back where hopefully the trio wouldn't find her.

She heard the compartment door slide open and ran a finger through her hair expecting it to be Hermione.

"I missed you."

Ginny knew the voice and was wrapped in his arms in an instant.

"I missed you too, Draco," she replied warmly.

"So what happened when you got home?" he asked.

Ginny told him her story but hesitated before telling him what happened the previous day.

"Did something else happen?" Draco asked.

"Hermione knows," she said quietly.

"What does the mudblood know?" he asked sharply.

"The knife, it just fell out of my pocket and she kept on asking me questions and telling me to show her my arms, and…" Ginny trailed off as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Shh, it will be all right. I'll deal with the mudblood so don't worry yourself over what she does. The last thing we need is the entire dream team bothering you," He said and pulled her into a tight hug.

"And as for what happened with Stephan, I couldn't be prouder of you. You showed him that you will fight back if he keeps doing those things. The only reason he did them in the first place was because he knew you had a strong spirit. And you still have a strong spirit, he won't be able to control you much longer," Draco whispered and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Thanks, Draco," Ginny said with a smile.

"For what?" he asked.

"For showing me that I'm worth something," Ginny replied and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

"Hermione, I really don't want to do this. What if she doesn't believe me?" he asked.

"Harry, please don't whine about it, its for a better cause. And if she doesn't believe you just kiss her or something," Hermione said with a small amount of annoyance in her voice.

"But do I have to do it today?" he whined again.

"No, you'll do it tomorrow before breakfast. And it _will_ work," she said firmly.

Ginny awoke suddenly when she felt someone shaking her violently. She couldn't make the person out since the room was still dark.

"Come on, Gin, wake up!" Hermione said.

"Ugh, Hermione what do you want? Haven't you ruined enough already?" Ginny said with annoyance in her voice.

She sat up groggily and pulled back her covers. Ginny walked over to the bathroom and shut the door.

"Ginny don't be late for breakfast! I wouldn't want you to miss it!" Hermione called before leaving the room.

She let out a groan. Was this another one of Hermione's attempts to help her? She hoped not. She didn't need to deal with Hermione at all today.

Ginny pulled on her robes and grabbed her books before heading out of the common room and toward the great hall. She entered the hall and gave a brief glance at Draco. He smiled and she returned with a short nod and a smile. Ginny made her way through the students and found a seat at the Gryffindor table. She began to put toast and fruit on her plate when Harry walked over and sat next to her.

"Hey Gin, I was wondering if you wanted to go outside the hall to talk for a minute," he said.

She felt worry wash over her. So Hermione had decided to use Harry as a pawn to help her. But other thoughts began to rush across her mind. What if Harry just wanted to talk? Nothing more. What if he just wanted a nice little conversation with her about her day?

"Alright," Ginny muttered following him out of the hall. She would play along and see how far Harry would take it. As they exited the hall Harry gestured toward the staircase and Ginny followed silently until both were seated.

"So, Ginny, how have you been?" Harry started.

"Okay, I guess," she replied nervously. Why wouldn't he just get it over with? They both sat in an uncomfortable silence until Ginny finally spoke.

"Harry, what do you want? I have a breakfast to eat," She said.

"I know this will sound weird," Harry began, "Well I've fancied you for sometime now and I just thought since you liked me and all we could, you know, hook up?"

"How dare you," she hissed dangerously, "you arrogant prat! You think that I still actually liked you after all of these years! Of course you did because everyone love famous Harry fucking Potter!"

"Ginny, please it was an honest mistake. I thought you still did like me," he said trying to sound convincing.

"Harry, I'm not a fucking idiot. Just tell me the truth, Hermione put you up to this didn't she?" Ginny said with anger visible in her eyes.

"No, she didn't!" Harry protested, "I really do like you!"

"Well then you must think me both blind and stupid. I saw you snogging Hermione last night in the common room," she snapped.

Ginny was about to stand up and leave but was pulled back when Harry grabbed her wrist. He held her against his chest and pulled her into a hard kiss.

Draco watched Harry and Ginny from the shadows. He watched as they talk and grew angry as he saw Potter kiss the only person he ever cared about. Draco was filled with disgust. Ginny just used him to get what she wanted, Harry Potter. She had left him hanging and had pretended to care for him. Well two could play at that game. She wouldn't receive his forgiveness, even if she begged for it. Nobody toyed with a Malfoy's heart and got away with it. Draco turned toward the dungeons and quickly walked away.

Ginny roughly pushed Harry off of her. She knew he could see the anger in her eyes.

"Just what the fuck do you think you're doing Potter?" she yelled.

"I was just, proving to you how much I really liked you," Harry said quietly.

"Don't you _ever_ touch me again. Got it? And tell Hermione to watch herself. She won't be getting away with this," Ginny said with a vicious snarl.

She stormed up the staircase leaving behind a very shocked and confused Harry Potter.

A/N: I know some people said my other chapter was too short so here's one that's a little longer. I hope you enjoyed!


	20. Always A Next Time

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 20 Always a Next Time

"_Crawling through this world as disease flows through my veins  
I look into myself, but my own heart has been changed  
I can't go on like this  
I loathe all I've become_

_Won't you take me away from me"_

_-Evanescence _

Ginny ran up to her dorm room and slammed the door shut. Any emotions of sadness were gone and replaced by anger. She had never experienced anger so deep against Hermione and Harry. _"How am I going to fix this?"_ she thought.

Her mind immediately ran to her knife as she paced back and forth across the floor. She stood still for a moment and stared at her pillow. Just a few quick slashes and she would be okay again, she would be calm. But Ginny shook her head furiously and began to pace again. She wasn't going to take the easy way out this time, she was going to be strong and figure her problem out.

Ginny grabbed a piece of parchment writing a quick letter to Draco and sent her owl off.

Harry walked into the great hall with a look of defeat on his face. Hermione quickly walked up to him with a smile.

"So, did everything go okay?" she asked.

"What do you think?" Harry replied with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "she hates me now and it's all because of you. I was okay with her hating you, but I can't have my best friend's sister hating me."

"Oh gee, Harry, I feel so loved, thanks," she snapped, "could you just tell me what happened?"

"Well, I pulled her over to the side and she seemed all nervous. Then when I told her I fancied her she went crazy and started accusing me," Harry started.

"Well why didn't you kiss her or something?" Hermione asked urgently.

"I did," he said slowly, "But that just made her even more angry. Now she really hates me."

"Who hates you?" said a voice behind Harry and Hermione. They both jumped and turned around to see Ron and Luna.

"Oh, no one," Harry said quickly.

"Come one Harry, I'm not _that_ stupid. Just tell me," Ron said rolling his eyes.

But when neither responded after a few moments Ron's eyes widened.

"You're not still going on about Ginny, are you?" he asked suspiciously, but his suspicion was confirmed when they both lowered their heads.

"What has she done this time?" he asked.

"Well she-" Harry began but stopped when Hermione elbowed him in the side.

"We're just worried about her is all. She's been so distant lately," Hermione finished trying to sound believable.

"Gin is _always_ distant. It's just the way she is. I'm telling you, just leave her alone and she'll stop trying to get all the attention," he said, "But both of you better tell me if she starts hanging around the ferret again."

"Oh that's real nice Ron," Hermione replied sarcastically, "You only care what happens to her when someone else notices her."

"I'm just looking out for-" He began but stopped when Hermione threw him a dirty look.

"If you guys want, I could talk to Ginny. We're not too close but maybe I could get something out of her," Luna piped up.

"Would you?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Yea, I'll see if I can talk to her in the next couple of days," she replied.

"Thanks," Hermione said with a smile.

Draco gripped the parchment furiously as he read it.

_Do you think you could meet me in the astronomy tower tonight? I really need to talk._

_Love,_

_Ginny_

"_I need to talk to you about something? I wonder what that could mean?" _he thought sarcastically.

How could she just pretend that nothing happened? Why did she need him anymore when she had her precious Potter to watch over her? Draco was never important to her. Just a toy to get what she ultimately wanted. As each thought passed through his mind he grew angrier.

How could she betray him like that? She had now left a hole in his heart, a place that she was meant to stay in. Draco gripped his head as his temples throbbed.

"_That's not true Draco," Ginny whispered, "I care about you and I love you." _

_He could here her words echoing in his head. Love? She didn't love him and she never would._

"Its because no one cares and no one has ever shown love towards me therefore I don't know how to love." Draco ended.

He felt the anger well up in him stronger than before. How could he have been so open with her? How could he tell her his deepest secrets? _"Love is something I will never know,"_ he thought furiously.

Then an idea came to mind as a sly smile drew across Draco's face. A Malfoy didn't love. A Malfoy only showed love for himself. Surely Ginny Weasley would know that. And even if she didn't he would prove it.

Draco walked into his private room with a smile and thinking, _"Two can play at this game." _

Ginny sat in the astronomy tower trying to huddle from the cold. It had been an hour since they usually met and Draco had yet to come. Her patience grew weary with each passing minute and before long she left the tower knowing he wouldn't show.

"_I suppose that I'll just talk to him tomorrow,"_ Ginny thought as she walked into the common room.

She awoke at seven-thirty and quickly proceeded to the great hall in hopes of talking to Draco before they ate breakfast. Ginny tied her hair in a loose ponytail and ran down the stairs only to stop dead when she saw a blonde with a brunette attached to his side.

"_No, it can't be him,"_ she thought quickly. _"How many other blondes do you know in this school?" _her mind retorted.

She ran over to the blonde and quickly called out his name.

"What do you want Weasley?" Draco said with a cold tone that made Ginny flinch.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," she began.

"No need to tell me anything, weasel. I saw everything that happened between you and Potter," he spat.

That's what I wanted to talk-" Ginny began but was cut off.

"Do you think I care about _that _Weasel?" he said with a harsh tone, "Why would I give a damn if you're fucking Potter?"

"Draco, why are you acting like this?" she asked with tears in her eyes, "I thought- I thought you loved me."

"Love _you_? A filthy, poor, little rodent? How could I love anything as disgusting as you?" he spat, "Draco Malfoy loves no one but himself."

"And maybe his bitches," he added with a smirk as Pansy gave a small giggle.

Ginny ran up the stairs, tears streaming down her face, as Draco pulled Pansy into a rough kiss. But when he caught a short glance at her face, he couldn't help but feel guilt.

What if he was wrong about Ginny and Potter? _"It won't matter now. She won't forgive me after this,"_ he thought sadly.

He swung his arm around Pansy's waist as they continued into the great hall.

Ginny bolted into her dorm room and dove for her pillow. She had never felt pain this deep, this horrible before. Her world was crumbling, and if she didn't stop it, it would be gone forever.

"_Cut it all out. Cut out all the bad. Cut until you're clean,"_ was all she could think.

Ginny took the knife and ran it across her arm. Cut after cut after cut. She hardly paid attention to where or how deep she cut, all she could think of was getting rid of the pain.

When she finally felt the ache lessen, even though it was only a little, she dropped the knife on the floor and watched the blood flow gently out of her arms. She slid down the wall and bore her arms for the world to see and tears streamed down her face.

That's when she noticed it. Too much blood was coming from her right arm. Her right wrist to be precise. She must have not looked carefully enough when she cut.

Ginny felt herself grow pale, as the blood coming from her wrist seemed to thicken and grow deeper in color. She ran to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. She had cut too deep. She wrapped the towel around her wrist as tight as she could and prayed the blood flow would stop.

"_I'll be more careful next time,"_ she thought but instantly became sickened. Was this how her life was going to be forever? Would there always be a next time? _"Always a next time, always a next time,"_ she thought sadly as the tears poured from her eyes.

She walked over to the mirror and felt sick. Was this how she would always be? Would she always be the girl who depended on her knife to get her through the day? Ginny slid down to the floor. She didn't know anymore. Everything was too confusing, too big to deal with. She wanted it to be over with; she wanted to go back to the days when life was simple and a skinned elbow was the only thing that made her cry. Ginny Weasley wanted her life back.

A/N: sorry for making you wait so long for my next chapter. I've been busy with school and all that stuff. I know Draco was a bit of an asshole in this chapter but everything will fall into place in the end. I hope you liked this chapter.


	21. Portkeys and Secrets

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 21 Portkeys and Secrets

"_I took their smiles and I made them mine.  
I sold my soul just to hide the light.  
And now I see what I really am,  
A thief, a whore, and a liar.  
I run to you,  
Call out your name,  
I see you there, father away. _

_I'm numb to you. Numb and deaf and blind.  
You give me all but the reason why.  
I reach but I feel only air at night.  
Not you, not love, just nothing."_

_-Evanescence_

It had been three weeks and Hermione was becoming anxious. Ginny hardly ever left her room in the past weeks, only to come to one meal a day. She attended her classes, but barely participated in any of the class work. She hadn't spoken once, to anyone, in three weeks.

"Luna, when are you going to talk to Gin?" Hermione asked as she walked up to the Ravenclaw.

"I've tried Hermione, I've really tried," she said wit ha sigh, "but I barely see her these days and when I do, she seems to disappear before I get the chance to talk to her. I'll try to talk to her today, but I can't be sure I'll even see her."

"Don't worry, you will see her today. I promise you that," Hermione said with a small smile.

If Ginny wasn't going to leave Gryffindor Tower, then Hermione would just have to bring Luna up there herself.

"Meet me outside the great hall before lunch, okay?" she said.

"Alright," Luna replied with a small amount of hesitation in her voice.

Ginny had been pacing her room, contemplating if she should attend lunch or not. She sat on her bed and decided against leaving the room, she didn't want to feel Hermione's eyes on her or his. He still watched her from across the hall, just like he had in the beginning of the year. She didn't want to make contact into his silver orbs for she knew she would once again lose herself in them.

Ginny felt a wave of emotion sweep over her. Just like the others before, she didn't understand the feeling it gave her. Was it love? Hate? Anger? Fear? What ever this feeling was, it consumed her each time and left her only in confusion. She only wished she could cut it away.

"_No, don't think like that,"_ Ginny tells herself. She has been cut free for three weeks. Three weeks of unbearable emotional pain, agony, and torture with nothing to relieve it. The knife that was once kept in her pocket or underneath her pillow now lies at the bottom of her trunk, covered in a thin layer of dust. Every glitter of light she sees, she longs for her knife. The feeling of control; control over her emotions, control over her pain, it gives her such a feeling of power. The power to choose how much pain she releases with each cut.

"_Don't think like that, Gin, don't think like that,"_ she tells herself again. But she's been thinking like that for three weeks. She's been longing to release all of her pain for three weeks. But she feels a small amount of pride. A pride that lets her run her hand across her arms and legs without feeling the ugly scabs that once covered them. Now all that's left are thin, long scars, barely visible against her pale skin.

She runs her fingers over the scar on her wrist. It's almost completely healed, but she can still tell that the skin there is weak. It's not like the others; instead it's wide and deep and a constant reminder of what happened. Each time she runs her fingers over it she feels the pain it released, only to make her wish for her knife again.

"_I'm going to fight this, with or without Draco's help. I'm going to come out strong," _she tells herself. As the thought passes through her mind once more she feels a strength she's never felt before. The strength to keep fighting, to not give up, to live through her problems without hiding behind her knife.

She no longer cares about the opinions of others or whether they see her scars. For the past week she's gone to bed in shorts and a tee shirt with nothing to cover her scars. She no longer tugs at her robes or wears long sleeve shirts. She's not afraid if they ask because she knows they won't. They never noticed her before, why start now?

She's not proud of what she did three weeks ago, but she proud that she isn't living in fear anymore. _"You're strong Ginny, and this time it's true. You don't have to comfort yourself anymore with that lie because now you know its true,"_ she thinks to herself. Ginny sits on her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, with a smile of strength and triumph.

Hermione waits but the doors to the great hall gently tapping her foot. She gives a small smile as Luna approaches.

"Come on, let's go," Hermione said pulling Luna's wrist.

"Where exactly are we going?" asks Luna.

"To Gryffindor Tower, I know she's there. Every else is at lunch so you both can talk. Trust me, it will work," she replied at the look of suspicion of the Ravenclaw's face.

As they reached the Fat Lady's portrait Hermione quietly whispers the password.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure she is in her room. Good luck," Hermione said.

Luna made her way up the staircase to the Girl's Dorms and enters the room without a knock.

"Luna, what are you doing here?" Ginny asked with a small amount of shock in her voice.

"Before you say anything Gin, can you let me talk and I swear I'll let you have your say," Luna replied and started again when she received a nod from Ginny.

"I'm not going to deny Hermione sent me to talk to you because she did. She says she's worried for you and so are Harry and Ron. But personally, I don't believe her. She barely paid attention to you before, and now all of the sudden she is, because of one little secret she found out. I didn't ask her because I wanted you to tell me in person. Although the golden trio might be putting on a show, I really do care what happens to you Ginny. We aren't the closest of friends but I want to understand what you're going through and do my best to help, even if I can't help that much. I'm not here to judge you because of one little secret. My opinion of you as a person won't change, I won't judge you because I'm here to be your friend."

"It's hardly a _little _secret," Ginny replied with a slight laugh.

"If you'd rather not talk about it, that's alright with me. Only when you're ready to talk will I ask."

"Thank you Luna."

"For what?"

"For showing me that I can trust you. So far the only person I've been able to trust is Draco and as of right now, that doesn't seem to be working. But I will tell you because I think you deserve to know the truth. You've been a loyal friend and I'm truly grateful for it. But promise me one thing."

"Yes?"

"Promise you won't tell the trio or anyone else. They don't deserve to know the truth, because they've been blind from the beginning."

"I promise with all my heart, Gin."

"Come here," Ginny said pulling Luna close to her. She released her arm from her leg and bore it out to Luna. Luna gave a small look of surprise as she gently brushed her fingertips over the scars.

"Gin, I'm so sorry. I wish I could have been there from the beginning to help you."

"Don't be sorry, I'm no longer sorry and you shouldn't be either. I've been learning to forgive myself for the pain, I've been learning to accept what happened to me isn't my fault and it never will be. I did it because—because I wanted to the pain to stop."

"I knew you wouldn't do something like this for attention. That's all Ron ever says. He says that you're a selfish spoiled brat who wants all the attention in the world," Luna replied but gave a slight gasp at what she had just said.

"It's okay, I kind of already knew that from the beginning. Ron is an ass, too caught up in himself to care. I'm surprised he even cared. But now, I suppose, is a good time to tell you what happened. It will take some time but I will tell you the truth that you deserve to know."

It took Ginny almost an hour to tell her tale to Luna. Luna felt completely horrible for Ginny as she began to say her good byes and headed toward the common room. She now saw Ginny's cutting as a release of pain and emotion that she could no longer bear. But in the end Ginny admitted that her cutting had caused more pain instead of trying to rid herself of it.

"Well, I suppose she told you. So won't you know tell me?" Hermione said quickly as she saw Luna coming down from the stairs.

"No, sorry, I can't tell you," Luna replied as she walked passed Hermione and toward the portrait.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" she said trying to keep her anger under check. She had wait an hour in the common room only to be told that she wouldn't find anything out.

"She was right Hermione, you don't deserve to know the truth. You simply wouldn't be able to handle it. Hell, even I probably didn't deserve to hear the truth, but I've gained her trust as friend and I'm not going to break it now," Luna said sharply before leaving the common room.

Ginny silently re-read the letter she had just received moments earlier.

_Ginny,_

_I couldn't be sorrier for how I've hurt you. What I did and what I said was wrong. I know you would have never done something like that to me. Your heart is too loyal, too loving, to betray someone as I have betrayed you. _

_But what can you expect from me? After all, I am but a Malfoy who knows naught the meaning of love and has never experienced. I beg your forgiveness, Ginny, and I promise to make it right. Please meet me in my private room ant 8 o'clock tonight. The password is 'Pureblood'. Please, Ginny, I want to make it up to you._

_Love, _

_Draco_

Ginny gave a warm smile as she thought of Draco. Maybe things were now changing for the better.

Draco glared daggers at the letter he had just received from his father. Although he had not opened it, he recognized him family seal immediately. He wanted so much to rip the letter to shreds, but his father would surely punish him.

_Draco,_

_Your presence is requested at 8 o'clock tonight at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. We have much to discuss about your future plans for becoming a loyal servant of the dark lord when you graduate. Do not let me down and embarrass our family name._

_Your father,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Draco threw the letter into the fire with a look of disgust on his face. Things were only getting worse. His father was expecting him to become a death eater and the girl he desperately loved couldn't hate him more. He fell on his bed with a thud as his thoughts remained on one Ginny Weasley.

Draco made his way across the courtyard toward the Forbidden Forest. He had almost reached the end when he was stopped by none other than Hermione Granger.

"I'm only going to ask once, Malfoy. Where is Ginny?" she said calmly.

"How should I know, Mudblood?" he asked with a sneer as he shoved past her.

"I heard her tell Luna that she was coming to see you tonight at eight o'clock. Why isn't she with you now?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know Granger," he hissed, "but I had no idea Miss Weasley would be visiting me tonight. She probably headed toward my private chambers."

Draco pushed past her once more but stopped dead in his tracks when he thought of what he had just said. She was meeting him at 8 o'clock in his private room; he was meeting his father at 8 o'clock by the forest. He had no prior knowledge of agreeing to meet with her.

"Oh shit!" He yelled as he put the pieces of the puzzle together. Draco turned and ran as fast as he could back to the school.

Ginny made her way toward Draco's room with a slight hop in her step. She could only imagine what it would feel like to be safe again in Draco's arms. She whispered the password and entered the room to find that no one was there. She searched the room but found nothing. When she turned to leave Ginny noticed a small envelope with her name written on it. She slowly made her way toward it, with curiosity in her eyes.

Draco ran toward the dungeons as fast as he could. He began to feel his legs grow heavy as he gasped for air. As he reached the portrait he ran in and saw Ginny grab the envelope.

"Ginny, no!" he yelled as he made a dive for her.

Draco felt the familiar sensation of something pulling the back of his navel. He could feel Ginny's body next to him as the rushing sound filled his ears.

With a loud thud and a soft groan Draco found himself on the cold floor of a prison cell. Ginny was at his side, but unconscious.

"Draco, so nice of you to join us."

A/N: Getting closer to the end. I know most of you probably think I'm evil for leaving you on a cliffie, but I want the next chapter to be really good! I hope you liked this one!


	22. Truth Revealed

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams 

Chapter 22 Truth Revealed

"_You can't abandon me  
You belong to me_

Breathe in and take my life in you  
No longer myself only you  
There's no escaping me, my love  
Surrender

Darling, there's no sense in running  
You know I will find you"

_-Evanescence_

"Get their wands, quickly!" a distant voice commanded.

Ginny let out a soft moan as she began to awaken to a pounding head. As she opened her eyes, the people were blurry and indistinct but the voices were so familiar. No, not the voices, just _his_ voice. Ginny let a small tear fall, as the people around her began to come into view. How could she be so foolish?

"Looks like the sleeping princess has awoken," he said as the men around him sneered.

Ginny tensed at the sound of his voice. She let out a small whimper as another tear fell down her cheek. This was it; she wasn't going to come out of this alive, she wasn't going to be able to tell her family good bye. She was going to be tortured and murdered by the man who abused her for almost a year and she wasn't coming back this time.

"Don't tell me you're afraid already," he said with a cruel laugh, "We haven't even had our fun yet, dearest, and when we do you know the real meaning of fear."

The men surrounding them gave out more chuckles and sneers as Ginny felt the tears well up in her eyes. She fought with all the strength she had to keep them back, but they just kept falling.

She felt Draco's hand tighten around her wrist. She had almost forgotten he was there with her. Why did they need him when what they really wanted was her? He began to loosen and tighten his grip on her wrist, almost as if he was trying to tell her something. She thought frantically as her eyes slowly began to scan the room. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a white envelope lying ten feet from her. The portkey! If her and Draco could reach it in time they would be safe.

Ginny began to slightly tug her arm away to get his attention. He took his hand and gripped hers. Draco slowly positioned himself so that he could make a fast break for the envelope.

Even if Ginny didn't make it back with him, he could at least get help. He didn't like the idea of leaving her alone in a room full of men, but it was their only chance of coming out of this situation alive. Draco gathered up his courage and made a quick dive for the envelope, but Stephan was quicker.

"Accio! Pretrificus Totalus!" Stephan shouted pointing to the envelope first then to Draco.

"You're a quick one, boy, but not quick enough."

Ginny scrambled to Draco's side and tried to think of something to help, but she was powerless without her wand.

"Take him, Lucius," Stephan commanded.

"There's no need to order me about, Stephan. I am well aware of what must happen for this plan to work," Lucius replied coldly.

"Well if you are aware of the contents of this plan then you are also aware of my authority. The Dark Lord put me in charge; therefore I will give you any order I please. And I believe you know from first hand experience that the Dark Lord does not like to be defied, Lucius, so I suggest you take your leave."

"I love you," Ginny whispered into to Draco's ear before Lucius walked over and dragged him out of the room.

"I believe the rest of you have business to attend to, you may also take your leave," Stephan said gesturing the other death eaters away with a flick of his hand.

He followed them to the cell and then locked it tight.

"Let the fun begin," He said with a cruel smile.

Draco felt the anger surge through his body as he fought to rid himself of the spell.

"There is no point in fighting it, son," Lucius said.

Although he knew he could not rid himself of the spell unless the counter spell was said, Draco kept fighting.

They soon reached another cell and Lucius dragged Draco in.

"Tie him up," he ordered to the death eater that had come in with them.

Draco glared at the death eater who began to tie him up but could not see his face under the cloak.

"Leave us now," Lucius ordered again. He then said the counter spell.

The second the spell was taken off Draco opened his mouth to speak but was silenced when Lucius raised his hand.

"I do not normally give explanations to prisoners, but seeing as you are my son and only heir this is an exception," he began.

"What do you want with me?" Draco snapped.

"Watch your tone boy, Lucius replied coldly, "seeing as you only have two options, you need to choose very wisely. Neither of them will prevent you from becoming what you are destined to become, and neither will prevent _her _death."

"What are my options?" Draco asked with a sigh. The only way to even have a chance of rescuing Ginny he would have to go along with his father.

"Glad you asked," he replied with a vicious smile, "You can either willingly become a death eater or I will have to resort to other methods to get you to comply. Choose wisely son. No matter what, you will become what you have always been destined for and it would be much easier if you accepted now rather than later."

He thought furiously about his choices. There was a very unlikely chance that he would ever see Ginny again. Would it be best if one of them survived instead of both ending up dead? There could always be someone else he might fall in love with. Maybe. Most likely not. If Ginny was going down fighting then so would he. He would fight for her.

"What exactly are these _other _methods?"

Ginny began to back her way into the corner. She looked up toward the ceiling in hope that there was a window she might be able to escape through. But she only saw black.

"Is this going to be like old times? Are we going to play hide-and-seek again in your little corner? I thought you weren't scared anymore," Stephan said with a sneer.

Although she did her best to remain calm, Ginny couldn't help but feel fear. Fear for her own life and fear for Draco.

"Undress, now!" he ordered.

"No," Ginny whispered.

"What was that?" he shouted.

"I said 'No'," she replied angrily.

"Come here you little bitch!" he yelled again, "You're always making things difficult!"

Stephan strode up to Ginny and grabbed a handful of her hair. She let out a cry of pain as he dragged her to an opposite wall. She struggled to get him to release her hair but he was too strong.

He then harshly grabbed her wrists and then bound them in shackles connected to the wall. Ginny let out another cry of pain as he slapped her across the face.

"Next time I give you an order, whore, I suggest you do it or I will resort to excessive violence, as I have now," he said and then slapped her across the face again.

Stephan began to tear at her clothes until she was only left in her bra and underwear, chained to the wall. Ginny began to let out loud sobs as he laughed in her face.

"You know, I rather happen to like this look. Who knew you had such a great body behind your over-sized clothing?" he laughed before delivering a blow to her stomach.

Ginny took in a raspy breath and let more tears fall, as she knew this was only the beginning. Her loud sobs started up again until she saw something glinting in his hand. She stopped when she saw the glinting object was a knife. Her knife.

"Where did you get that?" she asked quietly.

"I have my connections," he said before kicking her in the stomach, "You will only speak when I give you permission to, slut. Now, as I seem to recall, this little beauty was your friend, you only love, your world, and your savior. Now it will be your enemy, your worst nightmare, your torturer, and your murderer. Funny how friends can betray you so easily isn't it?"

Stephan let out another cruel laugh.

"But before all of this happens, I suppose you should know why I've decided to kill you. For now I'll just humor you and let you ask any question."

"You're not really an Auror, are you?"

"Of course not! I could never work for you pathetic defenseless ministry. All filled with imbeciles who run around hiding up secrets and plans just to make everyone feel safe. No, I am no Auror, I'm a death eater."

Stephan rolled up his sleeve to reveal the mark of the Dark Lord engraved into his arm.

"Why are you trying to kill me?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"I thought you would know by now, girl," Stephan said raising his eyebrows in surprise, "It's not because I hate you, or because I kill for the fun of it. Sooner or later you would have figured everything out, it was only a matter of time. You're too smart, you're too suspicious and that will get you into trouble, just like your brother. It's all for the greater good."

"And the greater good is killing innocent people?" Ginny shrieked.

"No one is innocent anymore. The innocent ones would kill us in a heart beat without hesitation if they got the chance. There will always be good and evil no matter what. And doing what I have to do to survive, even killing those you consider innocent, is all for my greater good and the people who share my belief. Even you are not as innocent as you appear," he whispered, "I know what lurks in your every thought. Or should I say whom? He would have been an excellent choice if only you were like us. Now hurry up with your questions, my patience is running thin."

"Your were the one who killed my father and brother, weren't you?" Ginny yelled as tears stained her cheeks.

"Of course, you stupid girl. Your father was a must if I had to insert myself into the family. Your brother was too nosy too suspicious, like you, so he was taken care of as well. Now it is your turn. Enough with your questions its my turn to have fun," he said with a laugh, " You know it's a real honor to have a virgin in my presence. Most of the girls I've had were all whores, so maybe I'll take my time with you. Make the experience more enjoyable, for me at least."

"You're fucking sick," she snarled.

"That may be true, but I'm not the one who massacred my arms just because I had a few mental problems. Who's the fucking sick one now? By the way how is my little scarred princess doing?" he asked walking toward her.

Stephan grabbed her arm and examined it closely.

"You seem to be letting off, no matter, we can just say you lost control and committed suicide. Everyone will believe it when they see the old scars on your arms. That was the original plan anyway," He said with an evil smile.

Stephan took the knife and ran it across Ginny's arms and then waist making her cry out in pain.

"What? Not used to the knife yet? You should be, you've been using it for almost seven months, you stupid little whore," he snarled slashing the knife across her cheek.

Draco lay panting on the floor, blood slowly trickling to the ground. His wrists had been bound too tight and were cutting into his skin causing them to bleed. He had been whipped several times on his back, which was also bleeding.

"Have you changed your mind yet, boy?" Lucius asked coldly.

"No," Draco said with a raspy breath.

How long had he been in this cell? Minutes? Hours? He couldn't feel or think anything except the pain that was filling his body and his mind.

"Well if we can't break you I'm sure Stephan can," Lucius replied.

"What makes you think that bastard can break me when even you can't?" Draco snarled.

Lucius slightly flared his nostrils as anger flashed in his eyes. He drew his hand back and slapped Draco across the face with all his strength.

"You will show respect boy! I dare say he will have more leverage over you than I do. Maybe if we're lucky enough he won't be finished completely. Up boy!" he shouted.

Draco slowly rolled over and got to his knees and then to his feet. The death eater at Lucius' side grasped the rope and led Draco out of the cell and down the hall. The walked the halls with a quick pace as he heard the cries of various men and women from other cells. They finally stopped at the cell Draco and Ginny had arrived in and stepped in.

"Stephan have you finished your part yet?" Lucius asked.

"I barely just started, why do you ask?"

"This one," he began pointing to Draco, "seems to be stronger than we thought. I figured a few minutes or hours in this cell would change his mind."

Stephan glared briefly at him before replying, "Very well. Untie the ropes binding his wrists and then tie him to the chair. It would be unfortunate if he managed to escape."

Draco was led to a small chair that stood directly across from Stephan. He was placed in it as the ropes around his wrists were cut and his upper body was tied to the chair.

As his eyes began to focus he could see a figure tied to the opposite end of the wall. After a few moments he could see the figure clearly and gave a gasp when he realized it was Ginny.

"Lucius you may leave, I work better when I am _alone_," he stated.

"Fine then," Lucius replied turning his back as he and the death eater exited the cell.

Stephan walked over to Draco and then sneered, "The best way to break a strong man is to let him see the one he loves tortured, raped, and murdered before his eyes."

Draco desperately fought against his bounds as her heard the sobs of Ginny.

"Ah-ah," Stephan tutted, " we'll have none of that now."

He walked up to Ginny and then began to beat her with the whip as Draco heard her loud cries of pain. After each shriek he would cringe out of fear and anger knowing he could do nothing to stop it.

The beating went on for a while until Draco heard Stephan let out a cruel laugh.

"This is only the beginning my dear. We still have plenty of time for this with no one to hear your screams except for the boy sitting in front of you. And then I will take what belongs to me and you will be mine. You will belong to me and you will know it until I end your life," he said.

Ginny could feel the metal cutting into her wrists and ankles. With each cry of pain she watched hopelessly as Draco cringed and struggled against his bonds without luck.

"Now the fun will really begin."

Ginny could feel him tear down her underwear and stick the handle of the blade inside of her as she let out another cry of pain.

It was the worst of all. Nothing else compared. Her whole body surged with pain as he shoved the handle into her without mercy or concern. All she could think of was the death that would soon belong to her. Then the pain would all be over. She then felt the knife slide in as she felt it cut her insides. She let the tears fall hard as she could only think of the pain.

Draco watched as he tortured her with the knife. He felt the anger surge through him as he saw the tears on her cheeks and the pain in her eyes.

Then something happened. Something he thought wouldn't occur. The bonds against his chest were looser than before. He could almost move back and forth in them. With each struggle he could feel the rope loosen slightly. For once his luck was good. The death eater must have not tied the ropes properly for he could now almost lift his arms up enough to escape. With one last push he raised the rope over his head and escaped from the chair.

Draco ran toward Stephan and tackled him to the ground. He shot up instantly and unlocked the chain that was holding back Ginny's wrist. As he reached for the next one he felt a foot collide with his stomach.

Ginny watched as Draco fell to the ground. She could do nothing with only one hand free but when Stephan came at her she used all her might to punch him in the face. That was all she needed as she watched Draco unlock the other arm and then Stephan stumble backwards.

"Get yourself out," he whispered and then turned to face Stephan.

As both of them fought against each other, Ginny quickly pulled up her underwear and unlocked the chains around her ankles. As they wrestled on the ground she saw her wand fall from Stephan's pocket and she ran to grab it.

Stephan had Draco pinned against the floor as he fumbled for his wand.

"Now, boy, you will die. Avada –"

"Expeliarmus!" Ginny shouted from across the room as his wand flew from his hand and into hers.

"Silenco! Petrificus Totalus!" she shouted again and Stephan fell flat as a board on the cell floor.

"Ginny are you okay?" Draco whispered running to her side.

"No," she said beginning to walk toward the chains on the wall and bent down to grab the knife that had been dropped.

"How are we going to get back, Draco?"

"I think the portkey is still in his pocket," he said walking over to Stephan and then grabbing the envelope from his pocket.

"Hurry and get your clothes we have to get out of here before they come back."

Ginny picked up her clothes and quickly threw on her tee shirt and jeans.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked quickly.

"Not yet," Ginny replied glancing toward Stephan.

She made her way toward him and looked deep into his eyes. She raised the knife so he would know that she had it in her hand.

"This will be a constant reminder of what you did to me. When you run your fingers across the scar or see it in the mirror you will remember my face and remember all of the pain you caused," she whispered with hate in her eyes.

She took the knife and plunged it into the side of his cheek and dragged it to his chin as she felt the warm blood cover her hands. She saw tears form in his eyes as she began to pull the knife from his wound.

"Ginny! What in the bloody hell are you doing?" Draco asked frantically pulling her back and seeing the blood on his hands.

"That was nothing compared to what he did to me," she whispered.

She could feel her breath become shallow as her knees began to buckle.

"Let's get you out of here before you collapse. Portus!"

Then she felt the familiar sensation as if something was pulling her through the air. She could feel Draco next to her holding her tightly to his chest not letting go.

They landed back in Draco's bedroom and Ginny fell to the ground as her legs collapsed. The last thing she felt was Draco lift her up in his arms before her world went black.

A/N: sorry for the long wait everybody. I wanted this chapter to be extra long and I've been very busy lately. Don't worry this isn't the last chapter and I hope I can update the next one soon. Hope you enjoyed.


	23. Understanding

Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams 

Chapter 23 Understanding

"_In our mutual  
Shame we hide our eyes  
To blind them from the truth  
That finds a way from who we are  
Please don't be afraid  
When the darkness fades away  
The dawn will break the silence.."_

_-Evanescence_

"Good to see you're finally awake, dear," came the voice of Madame Pomfrey.

Ginny let out a soft groan as she slowly sat up. She winced as she felt the sharp pain of the cut across her stomach. She looked around the room to find that she was in the hospital wing. What had happened after they came back? How did she get here? Why couldn't she remember?

"I see you seem to be confused about why you are," she began noticing the expression on Ginny's face, "I think the whole ordeal overwhelmed you a bit too much and you seemed to have fainted on Mr. Malfoy."

"Did he tell you what happened?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"Only partially. He left rather quickly when he saw to it that you were taken care of. I assume it was to inform Dumbledore of what had happened," the witch replied, "I noticed a few rather large cuts, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright," Ginny snapped. How stupid did you be to ask that kind of question? She was beaten, tortured, chained to a wall, desecrated with a knife, and almost raped and killed. Of course she was _not _alright.

"I didn't mean mentally, child," she snapped back, "I meant do you wounds hurt badly?"

"They hurt when I move, but they're bearable," she said with a sigh.

"And what about the other wounds?" the nurse asked.

"What other wounds?" Ginny asked with a suspicious glance.

"Don't play stupid with me, child, I'm talking about the _scars_. The ones that seem to cover your arms and legs. Surely they are not from tonight. Some of them, I can tell, are quite old. So would you please enlighten me now or shall we wait until the headmaster, you mother, and you brother arrive?"

"You told my mother?" she said with a small gasp of shock.

"Of course I did. Do you honestly expect me not to tell a mother her child is in the hospital?" Madame Pomfrey replied.

"Where is Draco?" Ginny asked suddenly as she began to pull back the covers.

"I assume he is still at the headmaster's office or in his common room. Where do you think you are going young lady?" she asked as her eyes flashed dangerously, "You are not leaving this bed until your mother has seen you and I am positive that you are in the correct mental and physical state to leave."

"I'm fine," she said trying to push her way around the nurse.

"A few minutes ago you said you weren't. Not get back into that bed. Now!" the nurse shrieked when Ginny didn't so much as budge.

"Listen here Virginia-"

"No, _you _listen! I don't care what mental state you think I'm in, I'm leaving this damn infirmary if I have to curse my way out of it. If I don't talk to Draco, things that should be said tonight will never be said. Now you move."

"Don't make me tie you down to this bed Ms. Weasley. I will see to it that you stay here and I wouldn't want your stay to be unpleasant. So get back in that bed this instant." Madame Pomfrey snapped.

Ginny rolled her eyes and with a loud sigh sat back down into the bed. She was too tired to get into an argument at the moment. All her energy had been drained. Just getting out of the bed had caused her pain and she felt too weak to go very far.

"I want you to take this sleeping potion and when you wake, your mother and brother will be here. Okay dear?" The witch said sweetly.

She must have slept for a few hours because when she awoke it was the middle of they day. Ginny slowly sat up in bed and was greeted by the nurse.

"Good to see you're awake now. Your mother and Ronald are in the waiting room, I'll just go get them," Madame Pomfrey said and turned toward the doors to the waiting room.

"But I don't want to see-," Ginny began but was cut off when the nurse turned and gave her a harsh look.

"They are family and you _will _see them," she said and turned back toward the waiting room.

As she opened the door Ginny could see the worried faces of her mother and brother. Although she knew she should be feeling sad it was the exact opposite. One look from her mother and Ginny could feel anger coursing through her veins.

That was the woman who betrayed her. That was supposed to be the woman who protected her from danger and loved her until the end. But she wasn't that woman, she was no mother.

"Virginia is doing better, Mrs. Weasley. I would like to keep her in the infirmary for a few more days, for her own safety. But she is awake now so you may visit her," the nurse said promptly.

"Ginny, baby!" Molly shrieked as she ran into the infirmary, tears streaming down her face.

She ran to give Ginny a hug, closely followed by Ron, but let out a gasp when she was pushed back.

"Don't touch me," Ginny snapped coldly.

"Baby, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" she asked.

"_What's wrong? _Is that all you can say? Is that all you can ask? I think you know perfectly well what's wrong. And you know what the worst part is? You knew! You knew all along and you didn't do a damn thing to stop it! You're just as sick as he is!" Ginny shrieked as she watched more tears fall from her mother's eyes.

"But there was nothing I _could _do! Ginny you must believe me! I couldn't do anything! We needed money and a good provider! We couldn't end up on the streets!"

"That's it? That's your fucking excuse? He almost raped and killed me, but all you can think about is money? You would jeopardize your only daughter's life just for some money? I can't even call you my mother anymore!"

"Ginny don't say that. I love you and I'm sorry. Please baby I'm begging for your forgiveness. Please accept and let me make things right," Molly began.

"No. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you. You hurt me Molly, this entire family hurt me, and I don't know when I'll be able to forgive you all."

"It's _mother_. Don't call me Molly, I'm your mum."

"Not anymore, you left me all alone, to defend myself. Not one single person in this family was there to back me up. The only person who was there for me was the one who helped me get through it all. And the worst part is, you would spit on his name if you knew who he was."

"No we wouldn't, Gin. If he helped you, he helped all of us. And that means the most no matter who he is," Ron said jumping in.

"_Us? _So _now _you consider me part of the family? Don't you dare fucking lie to me, Ron! You know you wouldn't think twice about punching him in the face if you knew who he was."

"Virginia, I don't care who this boy is at the moment. What I care about are these scars," Molly said rolling up Ginny's sleeve," Care to tell me what these are about?"

"You wouldn't understand," she said pulling her arm back from her mother.

"Oh, but this boy understands? This complete stranger knows why you carve into your flesh and leave scars?"

"Yes, actually he does," Ginny snapped," And I'm pretty damn sure he understands better than you ever will. I don't want to talk about this any more. Just leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving, Virginia, until we get this all figured out. So start talking."

"I'm not talking to you. I don't know when I'll ever be able to talk to you. Just leave and maybe we can start talking when I get home from Hogwarts. Now please, both of you, leave I need to rest."

"No, Ginny! I am not leaving!" Molly shouted.

"Fine! If you won't I will!" Ginny shouted back.

She pulled back the covers and stormed toward the exit.

"Ginny wait!" Ron called out and she turned before she opened the door.

"What?"

"I don't get it. Why would you do this to yourself? Did you want to kill yourself?"

"See that's what you two just don't understand!" Ginny screamed as a lone tear fell onto her cheek, "I wasn't trying to die, I was trying to live."

And with that she turned her back and left the infirmary in hopes of finding Draco.

A/N: Don't worry! This isn't the last chapter. There will probably be one more maybe two depending on how the next chapter goes. Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for all the great reviews. And I also know the Ginny's real name is _Ginevra _but I'm using _Virginia_ in this story and I'm just gonna stick with it until the end. Just wanted to say that because people keep telling me what her real name is..


	24. You

**Bleeding Soul and Silent Screams**

Chapter 24 You

"_You know I'd die just to hold you, stay with you  
Somehow I'll show you that you are my night sky  
I've always been right behind you  
Now I'll always be right beside you_

So many nights, I've cried myself to sleep  
Now that you love me, I love myself  
I never thought I would say that  
I never thought there'd be you"

_-Evanescence_

Ginny forced herself up the stairs. Even though the Astronomy Tower was only two stories up, it seemed like a lot more when she could feel the pain from her wounds. With each ragged breath she pushed herself up the staircase and kept her thoughts on Draco. If he wasn't there she wasn't sure what she was going to do. If she didn't talk to him that night, what would she say to him the next day? Would she even be able to talk or would it just be awkward silence?

Draco lay in the tower looking up at the night sky. He thought of all the incidents that happened. He remembered telling Dumbledore exactly about everything that happened, but none of it seemed to register in his mind. It was just a blur, a surreal blur.

He had saved Ginny, like he had promised to do. And now there was nothing left for him. No family, no life, no friends to return to and all the while his thoughts remained on Ginny. She had hit a rough patch in her life, but surely her family would know about it and give her what she desired. She would go back to them with open arms and forget about him. She had a family who loved her, and always did and he had no one. It was now Draco's turn to be left in the darkness. He felt a tear run down his cheek as he gazed into the sky and thought of Ginny.

Ginny reached the top of the Astronomy Tower and felt a rush run through her heart as she saw Draco lying there. She watched as he sat up and slowly turned around with a look of surprise on his face.

"Ginny, what are you doing here?" he asked quietly.

Something about the tone of his voice made her feel uneasy.

"I came to see you," she replied after taking a deep breath.

"Oh," Draco said with a cold tone. Even though he wanted to feel her in his arms, even though his heart wanted it more than anything in the world he pushed it all away with all the will he had. He knew Ginny loved him, but he would cause her pain and he couldn't bare to live with that, "How'd you get out of the Hospital Wing?"

"I snuck out. Look, Draco I really want to talk to you and-" She began but suddenly stopped when Draco grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the staircase.

"Did your mum even see you?" he asked pulling her.

"Yes, Draco stop! I have to talk to you! Please, stop dragging me!" Ginny cried.

"You have to see your mum and your brothers. They miss you terribly and want to help you," he answered tugging on her arm again but she finally managed to break his grip.

"Draco, why are you acting like this?" she whispered as tears began to stream down her face, "Please, tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," he said trying to keep his voice from shaking, "Come on you have to go back to the infirmary."

"What's wrong with you? I come to talk to you and all you do is push me away!" Ginny cried again.

"What do I have left to give you, Ginny? Huh? What more do I have to offer? Nothing. Your family loves you and cares about you. Go back to them, that's where you belong. Go back to them and leave me."

Draco turned around and gazed back at the stars.

"Don't push me away, damn it!" Ginny screamed as the tears fell from her eyes, "I don't care about them! You were the one who saved me and told me it would be alright! You were the one who taught me that I'm not the only one who feels pain! You were the one who taught me it was okay to cry! I'm not going to let you push me away after all of this! Just because you've given up doesn't mean I will!"

By then Draco could feel the pain welling up in his heart as tears began to form in his eyes.

"I have nothing and I am no one. What more do you want, Ginny?" he said turning around.

"You," she whispered.

Before she had even a moment to think, their lips found each others. His lips were so soft and so gentle that Ginny melted at his touch. She could smell and taste him and it was the best moment of her life. It was like her own peace of heaven that no one else could have and it only belonged to the both of them. As they both pulled away Draco wrapped her in a tight hug as tears of happiness feel freely.

"I love you so much, Ginny," he whispered.

"I love you too," She whispered back.

Ginny pulled away as the both sat down. She leaned against his chest as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"Gin, I think this is yours," he said as he pulled the knife from his pocket.

"Where'd you get it?" she asked.

"I took it from you when you fainted. I figured the nurse wouldn't be to pleased if she saw it in your hands," Draco replied.

"I don't need it anymore," Ginny said with a smile and threw it as far as she could in to the forest.

They stayed in the tower until the early morning sunrise began to shine behind the trees.

"We'd better go before we get caught up here," Draco said.

Ginny felt the warmth leave her when he released her from his arms but felt it come back when he put one around her waist.

"You know I've been thinking," Ginny started.

"About what we should call each other. You know, our nicknames? Like I could call you Drakie," she offered with a sly smile.

"Oh please don't. Only Pansy calls me that and its embarrassing enough having to deal with that through every meal," He replied with a chuckle.

"So what are we going to do about your brothers? I'm sure they'll be after me when they find out," Draco said hesitantly.

"Don't worry about them, they _owe_ me. And even if they do we'll deal with it one day at a time," Ginny replied planting a kiss on his lips.

"Deal," he said as he gave her another kiss and they both walked down the stars.

A/N: THE END! Wow the last chapter. Even though it's a little cliché of an ending I couldn't leave Ginny miserable for the rest of the story. Well I hope you enjoyed. I'm not sure if I'll be doing an epilogue or a sequel it all depends on what comes to mind. But if I get enough reviews I might put in something hinthint. Anyway even if this is the end, and I'll be sad to say if it is, I've got new ideas for another story so I'll be posting that when I get everything in place. SO thank you to all my **wonderful **reviewers you guys are awesome and you make me want to keep on writing!


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